Two hundred and fifty new merchants conducted business on Walmart Marketplace in May and June, Internet Retailer reported. And Walmart’s senior vice president of global marketplace, Seth Beal, said that hundreds more are expected to be added by the holidays.
According to Beal, Walmart currently offers 11 million products online and, through its marketplace, plans to add an additional 1 million items monthly. In 2009, Walmart started offering merchants the chance to sell alongside its own inventory on its website. Six merchants pioneered Walmart.com’s success and in 2014, the retailer continued to grow its outside seller presence. Earlier this year, the retailer worked on revamping its digital technology to support more SKUs and sellers.
In April, ChannelAdvisor integrated with Walmart’s global marketplace, which helps brands and retailers list their products on Walmart.com and increase merchandise sales in the process. This business decision increased sellers and allowed more merchants to feed their product data to Walmart.com.
“Our integration with Walmart’s global marketplace provides retailers and brands with a great opportunity to get in front of Walmart’s massive audience,” ChannelAdvisor CEO David Spitz said. “We’re excited to help Walmart increase its product selection by onboarding more third-party sellers, and to help our customers build their brand recognition on the website of the top retailer in the U.S.”
Due to Walmart’s technology expansions and business partnerships, it is estimated that more than 550 marketplace sellers are now present on its website. Beal said Walmart projects the total number of merchants to reach 1,000 before the end of this year.
At the moment, Walmart is primarily focused on acquiring U.S.-based merchants and international sellers that fulfill orders from the U.S.