Optimize Your Delivery Strategy Using Walmart Marketplace’s New Shipping Templates

If there’s anything those in the online retail world have learned in the last year, it’s that shipping is everything. Fast, reliable shipping is a known driver of e-commerce conversion, and that’s part of the inspiration behind one of Walmart’s latest launches for its marketplace sellers, Shipping Templates. 

This new tool for sellers offers 60+ easy-to-use templates that allow for custom configurations, flexible transit times, granular delivery regions across the US and helpful reports. These features let you specify ideal delivery regions and timelines for any portion of your catalog and meet your business needs. In short, customizing your own shipping strategy that works both for the customer and your business just got a lot easier. 

All sellers are required to complete migration to Shipping Templates by April 30. 

Overhaul your shipping strategy and boost your conversion

With Shipping Templates, you can go one step beyond just organizing shipping regions based on delivery times and add further definition by catalog and fulfillment needs.

Here are a few scenarios:

Templates for Expedited Delivery program participation

Back to where we started — fast shipping is crucial for successful e-commerce operations. Walmart encourages sellers to enable faster delivery options by offering a boost in Buy Box and search results for items that ship in two or three days. In fact, products participating in TwoDay Delivery on average see a whopping 50% lift in conversion.

However, for smaller Walmart Marketplace sellers, offering expedited delivery nationwide can be a challenge. Shipping Templates allow you to combine the best of two worlds — participate in expedited shipping programs regionally where you can deliver in two or three days using affordable ground shipping options. For instance, for Walmart ThreeDay Delivery you can set a standard method with two shipping rules — one with a three-day transit time in certain regions close to your warehouse and another one with a five-day transit time for areas farther out. 

Templates for different SKU types in your catalog

Your catalog is probably made up of smaller items and some fairly large bulk items. Shipping Templates let you diversify your shipping methods and offer faster delivery for the smaller items by assigning them to one template, while creating a second template using Standard or Value shipping for the bulkier items.

Templates for warehouses/fulfillment centers

If you fulfill orders from multiple warehouses in different regions, Walmart thought about your scenario too. Now you can set up templates for each fulfillment center and cut back on delivery times in those areas (and perhaps nationwide) by grouping SKUs by location (also called nodes). Granularize your delivery options based on those locations and offer TwoDay or ThreeDay nationwide using ground shipping services and customized templates.

Complete your custom Shipping Templates setup in three easy steps

Now that you’ve got some ideas about organizing your templates, it’s time to get started with your setup and build a robust shipping configuration.

Step #1: Migrate to Shipping Templates

To get started, you will need to migrate to Shipping Templates within Walmart’s Seller Center — a quick and easy process with a few basic steps. 

1. Navigate to the Shipping Templates page from the General Settings menu. 
2. Complete the migration. 
   1. All previous shipping settings will be automatically moved to what’s known as the Default Template, except any overrides. Shipping overrides, which are exceptions from Global Shipping Settings, will NOT migrate to the Default Shipping Template and any configurations by shipping overriders will not work. 
3. Once migration is complete, edit and manage the shipping rules for the Default Template as necessary, which will apply to all items not assigned to a custom template. If the items you sell are uniform, you may need just one template to apply the same shipping settings to the entire catalog. 

Step #2: Customize your setup in Walmart’s Seller Center

Now, this is where you can get creative and customize your setup based on your fulfillment network, expedited shipping program participation and assortment needs. 

When you add a new custom shipping template in Seller Center, first select a Shipping Rate Model (by weight or by price). Then, configure shipping rules for Value, Standard, and TwoDay shipping methods specifying delivery regions, transit time and rate. Repeat this process to add more templates and remember that you can always disable a custom shipping template or edit the settings as needed.

PRO TIP: Selecting a three-day transit time for your Standard shipping method enables ThreeDay Delivery program for your products and gives them a Buy Box boost.

Step #3: Map SKUs to Shipping Templates in the Rithum portal

You will need to complete this last step in the Rithum portal. Map specific groups of SKUs to each template following these steps:

1. You will need Shipping Template ID(s) to map your SKUs to individual templates. First, locate the custom Shipping Template ID in Walmart Marketplace’s Seller Center. Under settings, select Shipping Templates under the Shipping Profile heading in the Seller Center settings menu, which will open the Seller Fulfillment Settings dashboard.
2. Go to the custom template you would like to use and find the Shipping Template ID next to the Shipping Template name.
3. Then, map the Shipping Template ID(s) for your item(s) on the Walmart template in Rithum by selecting Sell > Walmart Marketplace > Template. The Shipping Template ID field is located under the common tab, under Core.
   

Enjoy configuration reports with easy-to-access information

Finally, Shipping Templates come with configuration reports that make it easy to keep track of your setup, no matter how advanced. Download these reports in Walmart Marketplace’s Seller Center to quickly see where SKUs are assigned at any given time.  

Ready to get started with your own custom shipping setup? Watch this QuickStart video tutorial for a more in-depth view of each step.

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Walmart Marketplace offers a unique opportunity for a curated community of respected, professional sellers. Approved partners sell their products on Walmart.com next to the wide assortment offered by Walmart and other sellers, reaching a growing audience of over 110 million unique visitors each month. With innovative programs and strategic partnerships, Walmart is changing the way the world shops.