Buyers’ changing expectations and the marketplace’s increased emphasis on customer satisfaction have prompted improvements that will alter how you sell online in 2022. It has been pivotal in laying the groundwork for eCommerce’s future.
With regards to Walmart specifically, the shift in customer behavior resulted in various changes in the industry. This blog will take you on a journey through the growing world of Walmart and all that it has to offer in terms of Walmart marketplace changes in 2022 and Walmart marketplace upcoming changes.
Overview of the changes in buyer behavior
Customer satisfaction has been prioritized, with post-purchase quality being a significant factor. Listing quality has also been scrutinized as an increasing number of consumers perform online product research. The grocery, basics, home improvement, children’s and pet categories all saw significant growth in the market. With growing online competition, merchants are concentrating their efforts on Walmart’s paid services as well. New OTT platforms and streaming services are coming into the market all the time. This means that retailers are getting more and more reliant on new types of advertising.
New Walmart Marketplace Changes in 2022
New Seller Savings
Sellers who join Walmart Marketplace by May 31, 2022 and begin selling on Walmart.com by June 30, 2022, will receive a 50% reduction on their first 90 days’ commission rates. Walmart has also extended its Introductory Offer for Walmart Fulfillment Services to sellers who wish to take advantage of Walmart’s low-cost fulfillment option. By enrolling in WFS, completing the setup procedure, and inbounding one item to our fulfillment center by June 30, 2022, approved sellers will receive 90 days of free storage and a 10% discount on fulfillment fees. To request to become a seller on Walmart or increase your sales on Walmart, contact us.
Changes in the New Listing Quality Dashboard
This redesigned dashboard is specifically to help with the SEO and ranking of products. Walmart made this change in 2021 to help people who sell things on the market get more people to see them.
The Listing Quality Dashboard evaluates goods’ overall average quality score, the breakdown of the components that contribute to average listing quality, post-purchase quality and Pro Seller Badge status, as well as item-level grading for all published items.
The Pro Seller Badge
This is another fantastic feature launched in 2020 and added to the list of Walmart Marketplace changes in 2022. This function is roughly identical to a confirmed blue tick on social networking, enhancing the seller’s authenticity. Walmart gives out pro-seller badges to top-performing sellers who adhere to stringent criteria in order to earn this seal of approval for greater confidence in the customer and boosts the seller’s conversion rates.
Panel Update
Additionally, Walmart modified the design of their panel to a more user-friendly layout that is substantially less difficult. This simplifies the process of browsing the seller center and managing day-to-day operations for sellers. There are many powerful tools in the new panel, like listing quality, the pro seller badge, shipping templates, and message alerts.
Walmart Fulfilment Services
This new fulfillment solution enables marketplace merchants to achieve the quickest delivery times at the lowest possible prices. Thus, they make it easier for sellers to offer quick and cheap delivery services while also improving their seller scores.
Message Alert
Another fantastic feature that was recently added to improve the seller-buyer relationship that is critical to consumer satisfaction is Message Alert. Sellers now have direct access to buyer communications via the seller panel.
Payments
Walmart streamlined the process of managing returns and resolving complaints. Sellers now resolve disputes and refunds using the payment dashboard in the Seller Center, rather than depending on Seller support.
Shipping Templates
Another outstanding feature added in 2020 is the new shipping templates, which simplify the process of setting shipping exceptions for all states. Whereas the previous shipping exceptions were limited to seven US states and territories, the new templates allow vendors to modify shipments to all 51 US states and territories. In this way, vendors can set up very specific shipping policies. This makes it easier for both sellers and customers to have a smooth shipping experience.
Ship with the Walmart program
Walmart also announced another shipping-related improvement, the new Ship With Walmart program that enables vendors based in the United States to easily join Walmart Canada because of Walmart’s negotiated customs and excise taxes. Sellers can effectively join Walmart Canada and sell over the border with SWW without having to worry about hefty handling and shipping expenses.
In the case of non-US sellers
Previously, only US-based sellers were permitted to make product listings and sell on Walmart. Starting in 2021, Walmart has opened its doors to non-US merchants.
Automated Promotional Campaigns
Walmart intends to use this functionality to assist merchants in promoting their items during Walmart-managed seasonal and category promotions. This enables sellers to submit, update, and manage their products for Walmart-run campaigns.
Smart Tags
Walmart added smart tags to its two-day shipping service. These machine-based smart tags assist you in applying Two-Day Shipping labels to products by recognizing which items can benefit the most from Two Day Shipping and can be dispatched sooner. Two-day shipping tags are automatically added and removed by the algorithm. Did you know that smart tags can help you increase your conversion rate by up to 37%?
We hope this article will assist you in comprehending the significant Walmart marketplace changes this year that are intended to enhance the marketplace and pave the way for a better future. We call all our Walmart merchants and those considering selling on Walmart in 2022, hoping to succeed big in 2022, to get in touch so that we could help you boost sales!