Walmart is a prime example of a successful business, despite the highly competitive nature of the retail industry. This achievement is largely thanks to the impressive Walmart marketing strategy.
Whether you sell on Walmart Marketplace or not, it’s still highly advisable to learn how they do marketing to have some ideas for your own business. In this article, let’s go over the following key points to discover more about Walmart marketing strategies:
- An overall glance at Walmart’s marketing strategy;
- Walmart 4P marketing mix analysis;
- 4 tips to drive more sales on Walmart Marketplace.
Let’s dive in for more helpful information!
Walmart Marketing: An Overall Glance
Before diving into Walmart marketing strategies, let’s take a quick look at some relevant information about this massive retail corporation.
What is Walmart & Walmart Marketplace?
It’s important to differentiate between Walmart & Walmart Marketplace. So how are they different from each other?
Walmart is a US multinational retail corporation founded in 1962 by Sam Walton. It operates a chain of hypermarkets, discount department stores, and grocery stores. This corporation has surpassed other Walmart competitors to become one of the largest retailers in the world, with over 10,500 stores in 20 countries.
In 2009, Walmart launched its online marketplace, Walmart Marketplace, which allows third-party sellers to list and sell their products on Walmart’s website. Walmart Marketplace provides an additional sales channel for sellers and expands Walmart’s product offerings to customers. It has become one of the top marketplaces for retailers to sell their products.
If you’re looking for how to sell products on Walmart, it’s important to evaluate the pros and cons carefully. Please refer to the table below for an overview of the reasons why you should or should not choose Walmart Marketplace to sell goods.
Pros | Cons |
- Wide customer base | - Limited international reach |
To succeed on Walmart Marketplace, weigh the pros and cons to see whether they align with your business objectives. Additionally, exploring a variety of marketing initiatives that can complement your strategy may provide further insights into enhancing your success. However, it’s best to focus on the potential benefits rather than be discouraged by the drawbacks. Adding to that, taking the time to study Walmart marketing strategy can help you understand why they have been able to thrive while offering low-priced products.
Walmart target markets
Walmart’s target markets consist of a broad range of consumers, from low-income to middle-class households.
These customers include:
- Value-conscious consumers who prioritize low prices and good deals;
- Families looking for a wide range of products, including groceries, household essentials, and clothing;
- Online shoppers who value convenience and home delivery options;
- Small business owners looking for affordable supplies and equipment;
- Rural and suburban communities where Walmart stores are often the most accessible retail option;
- Buyers prefer shopping in one location rather than visiting multiple stores.
Walmart has understood this target audience’s needs and shopping behavior, so they have tailored their strategy accordingly.
Walmart Marketing Strategy: 4P Marketing Mix Analysis
Why is Walmart so successful? The reason lies in their achievement is the marketing strategy mix. Let’s dive right in to learn more about Walmart marketing strategy and how it works.
#1. Walmart pricing strategy
What is Walmart pricing strategy?
Walmart pricing strategy aims at offering low prices on a wide range of products to attract budget-conscious customers and increase sales volume. This Walmart marketing strategy includes the following elements:
- Everyday Low Prices (EDLP): Walmart aims to consistently offer the lowest prices on a wide range of goods. It controls the sale price of products to maintain affordable rates daily.
- Everyday Low Cost (EDLC): Walmart strives to control its costs at every level, such as operating expenses, inventory holding, and supply chain costs. It then passes on the savings through lower prices to its customers.
- Bulk Sales: Walmart focuses on selling products in bulk, which allows the company to negotiate lower prices from suppliers and offer lower prices to customers.
- A diversified product strategy: This is a Walmart strategy that emphasizes offering customers a wide range of complementary products or services. The goal is to increase sales volume by encouraging customers to purchase additional products beyond their initial purchase, often at a discounted price.
- Universal stock-keeping unit (SKU) and barcode systems: These systems help improve supply chain efficiency, allowing prices to decrease.
Benefits of Walmart pricing strategy
- Increased sales and traffic: The low prices at Walmart drive more customers to its stores. People love getting goods at way lower prices than other retailers. This leads to higher sales volumes.
- Higher profits: Although Walmart’s prices are low, its high sales volume coupled with efficient operations actually translates into strong profits. Even with thin profit margins on individual items, the overall profitability is quite good due to massive sales.
- Customer loyalty: By consistently providing low prices, Walmart gains deep customer loyalty and trust. People make Walmart their first choice for all shopping needs knowing they won’t find better deals elsewhere.
- Competitive advantage: Walmart’s focus on low prices and efficiency has provided it a very sustainable competitive advantage. It is difficult for rivals to match their prices and profit margins simultaneously. This has cemented Walmart’s position as the market leader.
How to apply Walmart pricing strategy?
Walmart’s pricing strategy is based on offering customers low prices on various products. To apply this Walmart business strategy to your own business, consider the following tips:
- Win the Buy Box: The Buy Box is a feature on Walmart’s marketplace where the “Add to Cart” button is located on the product page. To win Buy Box, sellers must offer competitive prices and high-quality products. Once owning this feature, sellers can increase their sales volume and attract more customers.
- Offer bulk sales: Sellers can offer discounts for customers who purchase larger quantities of their products. By doing so, sellers can encourage customers to spend more money while also increasing the average order value.
- Diversify your product offerings: Walmart’s diversified product strategy allows the b2b marketing agency to bundle complementary products for higher sales at everyday low prices. Sellers can apply this strategy by bundling related products together and then providing customers with discounts to boost sales.
- Monitor and adjust prices regularly: To remain competitive, sellers should monitor and adjust their prices based on market trends and competition.
#2. Walmart product strategy
What is Walmart product strategy?
Walmart product strategy is customer-centric as Walmart aims to provide the market with what people want at the lowest price instead of introducing new products. Hence, when choosing products to sell, Walmart often relies on the following criteria:
- Wide range of categories: Walmart sells products in many different categories, from home appliances, groceries, and garden tools to fashion, beauty products, or health goods. That offers shoppers a one-stop shopping place where they can find everything they need.
- Sale-in-bulk products: They practice economy on a large scale as well. That motivates shoppers to make large purchases to receive incredible discounts.
- Customer service: Walmart’s retail service is also a point worth mentioning in this Walmart marketing strategy. Sales staff and customer service team are well trained to assist buyers in finding the suitable goods they need.
Benefits of Walmart product strategy
- Increased sales volume: Walmart product strategy, which emphasizes offering a wide range of products at affordable prices, attracts more customers and increases sales volume.
- Competitive advantage: In this Walmart marketing strategy, the firm provides a competitive advantage by offering a wider selection of products at lower prices than other retailers.
- Convenience: Walmart’s one-stop shopping experience and private label offerings can make it convenient for customers to purchase everything they need in one location, saving time and effort.
How to apply Walmart product strategy?
Walmart product strategy offers customers a wide range of products at competitive prices. To deploy this Walmart marketing strategy, consider the following tips:
- Fill customers’ needs: You can find many similar products from different brands in Walmart Marketplace. However, no retailers can ensure they have enough goods in stock consistently. It’s essential to research and find products that aren’t currently out of stock. Then, you can provide them with the kind of items available. At that time, your products can be on top of the first page easily.
- Offer a wide range of products: Consider expanding your product category to include a wider range of items. This can attract a broader range of customers looking for a one-stop shop for their shopping needs.
- Sell what others don’t: You can offer unique products that other sellers don’t have to establish your unique selling proposition. By being the go-to source for hard-to-find or specialized products, you can have your products rank higher in Walmart’s SERPs. This increased visibility can drive more traffic, increase brand awareness, and ultimately result in higher sales.
You might want to discover Walmart Pro Seller guide to enhance your product visibility, increase buyer trust, and drive more conversion for your Walmart store.
#3. Walmart promotion strategy
What is Walmart promotion strategy?
Walmart is good at promoting its products by offering frequent promotions and discounts throughout the year. They use catchy slogans like “Save Money. Live Better” that emphasize low prices and advertise their deals via various media channels, such as TV commercials, social media, and billboards. Here are some highlights of Walmart promotional strategies:
- Discount throughout the year: Walmart often offers weekly deals with some sets of products. They also have big discounts on special days to promote sales, such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday.
- Ad match: If the client finds a lower price at any other competitor’s advertisements, Walmart matches prices to lower the cost of identical products.
- Walmart advertising strategy: Walmart uses multiple advertising channels, including television, social media, and email marketing, to announce its deals and discounts to potential customers.
- Coupons: Walmart allows customers to use manufacturer coupons on rollback or everyday low-price items at Walmart. They accept both self-printed and company-issued coupons.
- Free shipping: Walmart offers safe free shipping options that give online customers the best quality of service.
- Policy: Walmart also provides dependable warranties and replacement policies on the majority of its products for sale. This feature provides customers with peace of mind when they make a transaction.
Benefits of Walmart promotion strategy
- Increase sales: Promotions like discounts, bundling offers, freebies, etc., boost excitement and encourage impulse purchases. This leads to higher sales during the promotion period and sometimes even after it ends.
- Attract more customers: Promotions attract more customers to Walmart as people come looking for the best available deals.
- Drive traffic: Promotions attract more customer traffic to Walmart stores and websites.
- Delight customers: Successful promotions that provide good value to customers will delight them. Delighted customers become even more loyal, talking about their positive experiences through recommendations and reviews.
How to apply Walmart promotion strategy?
Walmart promotional strategy focuses on offering customers discounts, deals, and other incentives to encourage purchases. Below are some tips you can employ from this Walmart marketing strategy:
- Utilize Walmart advertising: If you sell on the Walmart marketplace, it is important to advertise your products to increase their visibility and improve the chances of customers finding them. If you want to learn about Walmart ads, we have articles about Walmart sponsored products and how to advertise on Walmart Marketplace properly. You can find guides and tips for setting up a successful advertising campaign there.
- Make strategic promotion plans: Sellers can increase sales and profits by offering discounts on special days and bulk purchase incentives for customers. Encouraging customers to buy more at once motivates them to spend more per order and lifts average order values.
- Adopt Walmart SEO: Understanding the SEO algorithms of Walmart can help sellers improve their search ranking and increase visibility on the platform. That allows potential buyers to reach their products and make purchases.
Here are some ways businesses can apply Walmart’s SEO tips:
- Optimize product titles and descriptions;
- Provide high-quality images;
- Offer competitive pricing;
- Choose the precise product category mapping;
- Provide accurate specifications.
#4. Walmart point of sale strategy
What is Walmart point of sale strategy?
It’s crucial for businesses to have a good location that’s easy for customers to find and access. Walmart knows this and uses different strategies to make sure their locations are efficient and effective, as it’s an essential part of their marketing mix.
- Store formats: Walmer sells products at both physical stores (supercenters, discount stores, neighborhood markets, and express stores) and online marketplace (eCommerce format). By having a presence in multiple formats, Walmer makes it easy for customers to shop for the products they need, no matter where they are.
- Distribution network: By having numerous distribution centers and warehouses located strategically across the country, Walmart can quickly and cost-effectively move products from suppliers to stores. That ensures that inventory levels are maintained, and products are readily available for customers.
- Strategically located store: Walmart also possesses a large number of physical stores in high-traffic areas and close proximity to its target customers. This is especially important for customers who prefer to shop in-store rather than online.
- Real-time inventory management: Walmart also employs cutting-edge technology to track shipments and delivery. It helps the company identify which products are shipping or in stock.
- Reliable delivery: Thanks to effective logistical infrastructure with a fleet of trucks for delivery, Walmart guarantees timely shipment of goods to their customers.
Benefits of Walmart point of sale strategy
- Cost savings: By operating a large and efficient distribution network, Walmart can save on transportation and logistics costs. Their advanced logistics systems help to minimize waste and reduce delivery times, resulting in lower costs.
- Increased sales: This Walmart marketing strategy about point of sale decides to place its stores in high-traffic areas that are nearby its target customers. This makes it easier for customers to access Walmart’s products and services, resulting in increased foot traffic and sales.
How to apply Walmart point of sale strategy?
E-sellers can take inspiration from Walmart point of sale strategy to effectively reach out to more customer customers:
- Automate inventory management: E-sellers can use advanced inventory management systems and automation technologies to streamline their operations and reduce waste. This includes using software to track inventory levels, automate order fulfillment, and manage returns.
- Join other marketplaces and selling platforms: E-sellers can take advantage of the other platforms’ existing customer base and marketing efforts to promote their products. This can help the sellers reach new customers who may have yet to discover their products.
However, moving to another eCommerce marketplace can be a complex process requiring significant time and effort. But e-sellers can simplify this process by using a solution like LitCommerce. LitCommerce is a multi-channel solution that allows e-sellers to list and sell products on the most prominent selling platforms like Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Google Shopping, and others.
Using LitCommerce, e-sellers can easily manage their product listings, inventory, and orders from multiple channels in one place, simplifying the selling process on multiple platforms. This helps to streamline operations and reduce the risk of overselling or stockouts.
4 Tips to Drive More Sales on Walmart Marketplace
If you’re a seller looking to grow your business on Walmart’s online marketplace, below are several tips you can employ to help drive more sales and increase your revenue.
#1. Focus on brand reputation
When selecting bestsellers to advertise online, Walmart prioritizes products from famous brands with high ratings. This underscores the importance of e-sellers building a solid brand reputation to succeed on the platform.
To be put on the top page by Walmare, e-sellers should focus on providing high-quality products, efficient fulfillment, excellent customer service, and maintaining positive feedback ratings.
#2. Provide excellent customer service
Walmart’s customer-centric approach can directly impact e-sellers on the platform. The higher the number of customers’ positive reviews, the better chance for sellers to improve their products’ rankings and sales. Although it is still being determined whether Walmart takes reviews into account, the fact that customers rely on reviews to make buying decisions is undeniable.
Therefore, the sellers should strive to provide excellent customer support. They also should also pay attention to metrics such as custom rating, shipped product rates, product cancelation or return rates, and other key performance indicators that can impact their overall success on the Walmart marketplace.
#3. Don’t run low on inventory
Even when e-sellers offer the lowest prices, a lack of stock can quickly drive buyers to competitors, decreasing the chance of winning the Buy Box. Therefore, e-sellers should monitor their stock levels and avoid running out. If using Fulfillment by Walmart, e-sellers should closely monitor suppliers and ensure products arrive on schedule at the Walmart eCommerce Fulfillment Center. By following these steps, e-sellers can increase their chances of securing a place in Walmart Marketplace’s Buy Box and growing their overall sales.
#4. Leverage Walmart’s lack of fees
Compared to Amazon, where sellers need to pay many types of fees, Walmart only requires referral fees. Hence, e-sellers can use the savings to invest in other areas, such as offering free shipping, expanding inventory, or running promotions. By leveraging these savings, e-sellers can improve their overall business on Walmart’s online marketplace.
Walmart Marketing Strategy: FAQs
- What's Walmart marketing strategy?
Walmart marketing strategy focuses on providing the best value to customers by offering a wide variety of products at competitive prices. Their marketing mix, also known as the 4Ps, includes strategies for price, product, point of sale, and promotion.
They also emphasize convenience and customer service, focusing on creating an easy and enjoyable shopping experience.
- What marketing strategy does Walmart use?
Walmart uses a variety of marketing strategies to achieve its mission of offering low prices and convenience to customers. One of its main strategies is the 4P marketing strategy, which focuses on price, products, promotion, and point of sale.
- Product: Walmart offers a wide range of products from various categories.
- Price: Walmart is widely known for its “Everyday Low Prices” strategy. The company uses its size and bargaining power to negotiate lower prices from suppliers and passes on those savings to customers.
- Place: Walmart strategically locates its stores in easily accessible locations to make shopping more convenient for customers.
- Promotion: Walmart uses a variety of promotional tactics to attract customers, such as advertising campaigns, discounts, and special offers.
- What's Walmart target market?
Walmart’s target market is diverse and includes:
- Low to middle-income households;
- Families looking for a variety of products;
- Online shoppers;
- Small business owners;
- Rural and suburban communities;
- Customers who prefer one-stop shopping.
Final Words
Thanks to the appropriate Walmart marketing strategy, the platform has succeeded in building a trusted brand – an edge over its competitors. Therefore, when selling products on Walmart Marketplace, it’s essential for merchants to understand its 4Ps marketing mix and adopt these strategies properly.
If you are selling on other platforms and want to expand to Walmart to utilize these useful strategies and suggested tips, check out LitCommerce. As a multichannel selling expert with over 10 years in dealing with several marketplaces and platforms, LitCommerce can streamline the multichannel selling journey and make it an effortless experience like never before.
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