Walmart Partners with Shopify
Walmart just announced its app on the Shopify App Store. And it's already broken. It got a rocky start. One-star from 7 reviewers. Sounds like the multichannel integrators (ChannelAdvisor, etc.) are safe in their integrations ;-)
What kind of testing process is this? Anywho, off we go!
"Twelve hundred sellers is a big number, and what's understated is I think Walmart might be trying to put some distance between itself and Target," he said. "Target has been growing, its marketplace is extremely curated and Target is also on a tear right now." I was quoted by the amazing Daphne Howland of Retail Dive (my favorite eCommerce news source, naturally).
In the end while this move may be interesting, I think you have a few things happening, and some questions I have:
If this is indicative of the fact that Walmart is starting to take platform partnerships more seriously, then it shows they are paying attention.
Will Shopify sellers get any kind of "front of the line" privilege to sign up for Walmart's marketplace in otherwise gated or restricted categories?
John James weighed in with some insights: “Shopify bought physical distribution from Walmart. Walmart bought access to a customer segment which has eluded them. The way I see it from a brand/marketing perspective, this is a 'physical availability' win-win for both brands…this partnership offers Shopify an ability to expand their warehouse distribution network and create a quasi physical retail presence via access to Walmart stores and related goods/services (returns, fulfillment etc.) Walmart gets to add the missing 'urban buyer' to their domination of the middle and lower income customer segments.”
Suresh Chaganti added: “From a seller point of view, they want to be at as many marketplaces they can, but the barriers are too many. It takes a lot of time to maintain the product catalog across multiple marketplaces with No standards on product descriptions, image specifications . Inventory synchronization is challenging and so is risk of inaccurate inventories for fast moving products. But overall it should hopefully be good for sellers with increased competition…among Amazon and Walmart. Ultimately they have to win the sellers too. Listing fees, transaction fees, FBA / Walmart equivalent fees, shipping fees everything that takes to sell on marketplace. Insisting on using preferred shipping carriers. Marketplaces take the side of consumer, rightly so - but some of the policies and fees could be very stifling.”
Christopher Vanning asked “Other than claiming (very limited) real estate in a larger marketplace, what do are the sellers gaining?” Walmart needed to figure out how to drive more traffic to these sellers to have a real impact. I think this could be driven by the new CPG and grocery brands on Shopify.
Victoria V seems optimistic (cautiously): “I personally think this is pretty cool. I am less excited for Walmart, but excited for the Shopify Merchants and how this partnership can benefit SMBs and independents brands. I still need to do more homework on…how the program is structured for the Shopify merchants who choose to sell on Walmart Marketplace via the app. Also can Shopify sellers still choose to not integrate via the app? I am wondering if it costs them more for convenience.”
Ivo Petroff chimed in to say “Platform partnerships are key terms in the economy of tomorrow. A model that can basically enable everything. Apart from all specifics surrounding this particular announcement there is a much bigger message. Unstoppable power in retailing is about to be unleashed…Breaking silos. Access. Path to purchase. Channel influence. To name few aspects... of course, too early for conclusions. It's a journey.”
