Walmart has announced new fulfillment options and an expansion to Chile for the third-party sellers on its marketplace platform.
These new services were announced in conjunction with the retail giant’s first-ever summit dedicated to Walmart Marketplace and its third-party sellers, Manish Joneja, senior vice president of Walmart Marketplace and Walmart Fulfillment Services at Walmart U.S., said in a Wednesday (Aug. 30) blog post.
Walmart Marketplace is evolving and presents “a chance to create the marketplace model of the future,” Joneja said in the post.
“We’re building alongside sellers, listening to their needs to create a platform that’s easy to use and the first choice for customers and sellers alike,” Joneja said.
Next year, Walmart will open its marketplace in Chile to eligible cross-border sellers, giving them access to customers in that country as well as the existing markets of Canada, Mexico and the United States, according to the post.
The retailer has also opened access to Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) to sellers of big and bulky items and multi-box items, the post said. These items can now be delivered via Walmart’s low-cost end-to-end fulfillment solution.
Walmart also now offers the option of pickup or same-day delivery to customers of sellers who have physical stores, per the post.
The retailer is also continuing its rollout of Brand Shops, which are easy-to-build dedicated digital storefront for brands, and Brand Shelves, which are designed to feature curated assortments such as seasonal collections.
Among the other recent additions to Walmart Marketplace highlighted in the post are Walmart Business, a channel for B2B sellers, and Walmart Restored, which is focused on refurbished goods.
The retailer also added a Virtual Garage that allows customers to store information about their vehicles, making it easier for them to shop for items for those autos and schedule service appointments at Walmart’s Auto Care Centers.
“Today’s summit is a big milestone for us and our seller community,” Joneja said in the post. “Walmart Marketplace can take you to new places, whether that’s a new market on the map, an emerging area like refurbished products or a spot on a shelf in one of our thousands of stores.”
These new services arrive at a time when Walmart, Amazon, Shopify and other eCommerce giants are offering fulfillment-as-a-service and other benefits to earn the loyalty of third-party merchants selling on their platforms.
Walmart rival Amazon said in April that it had logged double-digit gains in third-party seller services as it continues to build out its ecosystem.
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