Walmart

Nine dimensions merchants should review before joining:

Merchant snapshot

Na di third marketplace power for US; omnichannel + grocery advantage, fees overall lower than Amazon; e dey good for mature cross-border sellers wey get US warehouse/local fulfilment ability, but di ecosystem still weak.

Entry requirements

Marketplace na review-based registration: you need company business license (US company or qualified international company), tax information an logistics plan; di review period dey long. For 2025, 200,000+ sellers but rumour say sellers dey leave; third-party incentive program quietly adjust (Ecommerce Times). No monthly fee, no per-item fee (threecolts 2025.9 comparison). International sellers must provide US local fulfilment or use WFS.

Fee structure

No subscription/monthly fee an no per-item fee; only referral fee based on category: like apparel (over $20) 15%, computers 6%, musical instruments 12%, printer ink cartridges 12% (threecolts 2025.9: same or lower than Amazon same category). WFS fulfilment fee for some categories dey clearly lower than FBA (some fee items lower by about 80%), but for small items (under $10), FBA dey cheaper. Walmart Connect advertising dey follow bidding. As e dey for di official fee table.

Getting traffic

Walmart.com on-site search + Walmart Connect ads (growth about 6x faster than sales, na_platforms.md); Walmart+ membership an store traffic dey work together, store fulfilment same-day delivery cover 93% of US households. Di number-one grocery e-commerce audience for US dey extend to non-grocery an advertising. Platform effect an seller tools dey weaker than Amazon, natural traffic size dey limited; seller need to bring price/product selection advantage yourself.

Fulfilment & logistics

WFS (Walmart Fulfillment Services) dey handle about 45% of marketplace orders (Q4 FY25). Di store-as-warehouse omnichannel fulfilment (same-day delivery/pickup) na di core difference. Seller fit also self-ship (need to meet delivery SLA). Shipping/storage fee dey charge based on volume an time (official Pricing page); Big & Bulky get extra surcharge.

Payments & settlement

Di platform dey collect payment as one, US dollar settlement; seller dey link US bank account or third-party collection service (Payoneer/WorldFirst etc). Settlement cycle dey follow platform policy (usually some weeks); fees an advertising cost dey deduct from settlement.

Compliance

US sales tax na di platform dey collect or seller go register; products must meet CPSC/CPC etc safety certification an Walmart banned-product policy. WFS products must follow packaging an dangerous-goods rules. For 2025, dem launch AI seller tools an new store-linkage rules (Retail Dive). Di platform no dey disclose US e-commerce GMV an e-commerce division profit, so seller need to monitor account health yourself.

Key risks

1) Seller ecosystem weak: di rumour of sellers leaving an incentive plan adjustment don weaken di Amazon-alternative story; 2) 3P scale far smaller than Amazon (3P na only about 10% of e-commerce GMV), gap for product richness, tools, advertising an logistics system dey clear; 3) Data no transparent: no disclosure of US e-commerce GMV (di ~$15B na only 3P figure, e dey conflict with di implied scale of ~7% share); 4) E-commerce fulfilment an delivery cost pressure an profitability balance (continuous 1-hour/same-day delivery investment).

Best-fit sellers

E dey good for medium/large cross-border sellers wey already get US warehouse/local delivery ability and dey do grocery, home, daily consumer goods, mother-and-baby an apparel, as a low-fee supplementary channel outside Amazon. Grocery supply-chain sellers get natural advantage. E no dey good for new small sellers wey no get US fulfilment plan an dey chase quick volume, and brands wey need rich seller tools/advertising ecosystem.

Sources

research/sections/na_platforms.md; 各地区电商平台Top5深度研究报告.md 第2章; https://threecolts.university/blog/walmart-vs-amazon-seller-fees; https://docs.m2ecloud.com/docs/walmart-seller-fees-explained/; https://ecommerce-times.com/walmart-marketplaces-rumored-seller-exodus-is-rattling-its-amazon-alternative-pitch/; https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250219052528/en/Walmart-reports-strong-revenue-of-4.1-up-5.3-in-constant-currency-cc-with-operating-income-growing-faster-at-8.3-or-9.4-adjusted-cc

Walmart appear for di Top-5 lists of 1 regions: North America.

• North America（#3）：Omnichannel + grocery ecommerce #1 for US; Walmart+ membership; WFS fulfillment

Every figure come from dat region Top-5 report and source audit. No cross-region conversion or new estimates: