Walmart Partners With Shopify to Expand its Online Marketplace
Walmart announced yesterday a new partnership with e-commerce shopping platform Shopify, now used by over 1 million businesses. The deal will open Walmart’s Marketplace to Shopify’s small business sellers, with the goal of bringing 1,200 Shopify sellers to the marketplace this year. The partnership will greatly expand the reach of the participating brands by placing them in front of Walmart Marketplace’s 120 million monthly visitors. The move reflects Walmart's ongoing battle with Amazon.com for e-commerce supremacy. In 2018, for example, the retailer announced Walmart Marketplace items would be able to participate in its free, two-day shipping program and would be eligible for in-store returns. Today, Walmart describes its Marketplace’s growth as a “strategic priority.”
Total Retail's Take: In an email interview with Total Retail, a Walmart company spokesperson offered the followings insights on the company's partnership with Spotify:
Total Retail: Why is Walmart looking to expand its Marketplace to more small and midsize businesses?
Walmart: The past few months have reinforced how important both Walmart and the online shopping experience are to our customers. By expanding Walmart Marketplace to include more small and midsize businesses, we’re increasing the number of items for sale and reinforcing Walmart as the primary shopping destination for groceries and general merchandise for our customers.
TR: How is partnering with Shopify going to help accomplish that goal?
W: Shopify powers a dynamic portfolio of third-party sellers who are interested in growing their businesses through new, trusted channels. Walmart is providing an opportunity for those sellers to list their items on Walmart.com and expose their products to a wider audience, while also giving our customers access to a broader assortment of items to purchase.
TR: Why was Shopify the right partner for Walmart?
W: As mentioned above, Shopify’s dynamic portfolio of third-party sellers makes it a perfect collaborator to not only expand our assortment of items, but also expose sellers to a wider audience by listing their items on Walmart.com.
TR: What goals/business benefits does Walmart hope to realize as a result of its Marketplace integration with Shopify?
W: Accelerating the growth of Walmart Marketplace is critical to the long-term success of our online business. Onboarding new sellers and their items to grow the third-party assortment is key to accomplishing this, but Walmart Marketplace must remain one of the safest and most trusted online marketplaces available. Working with Shopify helps realize this goal by expanding the assortment of items available on Walmart.com with safe and trusted third-party sellers.
