Selling Cross-Border with Walmart’s North American Marketplaces

Walmart is the world’s largest company by revenue. Since the late 20th century, it’s been a household name that’s synonymous with value and extensive inventory. Today, it’s also leading the online retailer pack with marketplaces for countries around the world.

We recently co-hosted a two-part webinar with Walmart on its Canadian and Mexican marketplaces. Ready to expand to new regions? Here’s what you need to know.

All three of Walmart’s North American marketplaces offer zero monthly fees and no setup costs to get started. Unlike Amazon’s subscription, Walmart only requires referral fees based on the product’s category.

Walmart Canada Marketplace

Walmart Canada Marketplace is open to many countries and is experienced with cross-border selling. According to Walmart, it is the second most visited retail website in Canada with more than 17 million unique monthly visitors. Most Canadians live within a few miles of a Walmart Supercenter, but the online marketplace offers more product and brand selection than brick and mortar stores with 35 million additional products online. 

Walmart Canada’s top customer segments include Millennials (41%), families with kids (55%) and the affluent, which includes those with medium-high income (54%) and higher education (83%). In 2021, Canadian consumers spent 60% of their disposable income on US goods and services, particularly in the home office, tools, health and exercise, personal care, special needs, entertainment, toys, and electronics categories.

Walmart.ca is home to featured brands like Lenovo, Dyson, Sealy and Bissell, among others. As part of the marketplace, sellers like these receive benefits such as:

• Store pick-ups and returns. Marketplace customers have a wider array of delivery options and benefit from faster returns at their local Walmart.
• Discounted shipping rates and services. Walmart provides discounted shipping rates and access to partners for domestic as well as cross-border shipping. The Ship with Walmart program offers both U.S. to Canada and China to Canada shipping.  

To sell on Walmart.ca, vendors must meet certain requirements, including:

1. E-commerce experience — Sellers must have a history of marketplace or e-commerce success, as well as a Canada Business Number (CBN) or Non-Resident Importer (NRI), though a Canada warehouse is not mandatory.
2. Compelling product catalog — Walmart.ca favors unique, exciting products with well-defined attributes and competitive prices.
3. Exceptional customer experience — Sellers must be able to provide fast and reliable fulfillment delivered with duties prepaid (DDP).

Ready to get started? Learn more about Ship with Walmart (SWW), referral fees, how to sell on Walmart.ca and more in the on-demand webinar. 

Walmart Marketplace México

Walmart México is the country’s largest retailer with more stores per capita than the U.S. and nearly 27 million monthly unique visitors to its Walmart.com.mx marketplace. Approximately 45% of digital buyers in Mexico make purchases cross-border. The Marketplace is open to U.S. and China sellers who have demonstrated selling excellence on Walmart’s U.S. Marketplace. 

Walmart México sellers enjoy several unique benefits, including:

• Additional physical channels. The México Marketplace is also home to more than 1,100 in-store kiosks to promote findability in multiple channels. 
• Diversified payment options. Because 17% of Mexican consumers prefer to pay in cash, Walmart México offers pay in store options. 
• Spanish language customer service. Walmart México handles customer support in Spanish on the seller’s behalf via email, chat or phone.  
• Cross-platform listings. List once, sell on two sites, including Walmart.com.mx and bodegaaurrera.com.mx, Walmart’s discount store chain.

 To sell on Walmart.com.mx, you must have a(n):

1. Existing Walmart U.S. Marketplace account in good standing
2. Payoneer account for conversion from pesos to their preferred currency
3. Compelling product catalog in Spanish
4. Competitive pricing
5. Ability to ship delivery duty paid (DDP)
6. Mexican returns center or willingness to adopt Walmart’s Estafeta Return Solution

Ready to get started? Learn more about Walmart México selling events, how to write content for a Spanish-speaking audience and more in the on-demand webinar.

If you’re not yet selling on Walmart U.S. Marketplace, apply today to start the process. You’ll hear from one of our Rithum Walmart experts who will help you complete the application and explain the next steps.