Despite thousands of stores, unrivaled brand recognition and virtually unlimited resources, Walmart had little impact on e-commerce until recently.
After acquiring Jet.com in 2016, Walmart completely changed its e-commerce strategy. This happened not by developing and growing the Jet.com brand, but by putting the Jet.com team, led by Mark Lohr, in charge of e-commerce at Walmart.
Walmart's online marketplace has now rejuvenated after years of stagnation since it launched in 2009, and its base has grown to 93,000 merchants. Walmart doesn't say what percentage of its total online sales come from sellers working on the marketplace, but it's clear that developing the marketplace is an important part of Walmart's overall e-commerce strategy.
Walmart.com is visited by 389 million people from the U.S. each month, representing 95 percent of all global traffic. Its share of U.S. online retail sales is 5.3%, which is second (but very distant) behind Amazon's 40% share. Walmart's online sales are valued at $50 billion.
Walmart sales are focused on U.S. companies, although about a hundred Chinese sellers have recently been approved to participate. The approval process for new sellers takes up to three weeks, and Walmart asks to load at least 10 percent of a seller's merchandise before its listings are approved.
Despite the higher barriers to entry at Walmart, catalog quality control and seller support can be weak, creating a sense of chaos in the marketplace from a seller's perspective.
read more here*
After acquiring Jet.com in 2016, Walmart completely changed its e-commerce strategy. This happened not by developing and growing the Jet.com brand, but by putting the Jet.com team, led by Mark Lohr, in charge of e-commerce at Walmart.
Walmart's online marketplace has now rejuvenated after years of stagnation since it launched in 2009, and its base has grown to 93,000 merchants. Walmart doesn't say what percentage of its total online sales come from sellers working on the marketplace, but it's clear that developing the marketplace is an important part of Walmart's overall e-commerce strategy.
Walmart.com is visited by 389 million people from the U.S. each month, representing 95 percent of all global traffic. Its share of U.S. online retail sales is 5.3%, which is second (but very distant) behind Amazon's 40% share. Walmart's online sales are valued at $50 billion.
Walmart sales are focused on U.S. companies, although about a hundred Chinese sellers have recently been approved to participate. The approval process for new sellers takes up to three weeks, and Walmart asks to load at least 10 percent of a seller's merchandise before its listings are approved.
Despite the higher barriers to entry at Walmart, catalog quality control and seller support can be weak, creating a sense of chaos in the marketplace from a seller's perspective.
read more here*