Selling on Amazon vs. Walmart: The Battle of eCommerce

Amazon vs. Walmart: The ultimate showdown for marketplace supremacy is a hotly debated topic among online sellers. The Amazon and Walmart marketplaces are two of the world’s most popular and widely used e-commerce marketplaces. Several online shops rely on these platforms to access over 300 million, monthly visitors. According to a report, Amazon’s 2020 net sales were $386 billion, while Walmart’s e-commerce sales rose 97% to $35 billion. These numbers show the enormous potential these platforms provide sellers.

This blog does an Amazon vs. Walmart marketplace comparison, listing pros and cons. Let’s examine both platforms’ pricing, fulfillment alternatives, consumer reach, and more. This blog should help you choose the best suited venue for your business.

• Pros of selling on Amazon marketplace for sellers
• Pros of selling on Walmart marketplace for sellers
• Limitations: Amazon vs. Walmart marketplaces
• The final word

Pros of selling on Amazon marketplace for sellers

Amazon,one of the world’s largest online retailer, provides an enormous customer base for sellers to tap into, making it an attractive platform for brands. Let’s discuss the benefits of selling on Amazon, compare Amazon vs. Walmart, and how it can help businesses increase their sales.

• The vast customer base: Amazon has over 300 million active users worldwide. This broad customer base can lead to increased sales and revenue and greater brand exposure for your business.

• Efficient & ease of use: The Amazon marketplace is user-friendly and easy to navigate, making it simple for sellers to list their products and manage their orders. Amazon also provides tools to enhance listings and boost sales. Analytics, advertising, and consumer feedback are examples.

• Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service: FBA lets sellers store and ship their products from Amazon’s warehouses. Amazon handles packaging, shipping, and customer service, saving merchants time and money. Amazon Prime gives millions of members free two-day shipping on purchases delivered by Amazon.

• Amazon’s advertising solutions: Amazon offers various advertising options, including sponsored products, brands, and display ads. These straightforward advertising platforms provide customer behavior analytics to help sellers optimize campaigns and increase ROI.

Pros of selling on Walmart marketplace for sellers

As the world’s largest retailer, Walmart is continually enhancing its online presence and increasingly offering an attractive platform for sellers. Let’s explore the advantages of selling on Walmart Marketplace:

• The growing customer base:  The website attracts over 100 million monthly unique visitors, providing a broad and diverse customer base for sellers to target with their products. This expansive customer base can result in increased sales and revenue for businesses.

• User-friendly & efficient to use: The Marketplace is easy to navigate and manage, simplifying the process for sellers to list their products and handle orders. Walmart provides many tools to help vendors optimize their listings and boost sales. Analytics, advertising, and reviews are examples.

• Lower referral fee: A significant benefit of selling on Walmart Marketplace is the lower fees charged compared to Amazon. Walmart levies a referral fee of 15% or less, depending on the product category, in contrast to Amazon’s referral fees, ranging from 6% to 45%. This fee structure offers the potential for higher profits for sellers.

• Better brand-consumer management: Walmart enables sellers to create and manage their storefronts, allowing for the customization of product listings and brand imagery. Additionally, Walmart provides sellers with direct access to their customers, enabling them to establish lasting relationships.

• Walmart’s Fulfillment Services (WFS): WFS allows sellers to store their products in Walmart’s warehouses and has them shipped to customers directly by Walmart, saving time and money by outsourcing the packaging, shipping, and customer service aspects of the business.
• Walmart’s advertising solutions: Walmart provides a range of advertising options, including Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands, that are easy to use and provide valuable insights into customer behavior, enabling sellers to optimize their campaigns and improve their ROI.

Limitations: Amazon vs. Walmart marketplaces

Selling on Amazon and Walmart marketplaces can expand your online reach and profit, but limitations can hinder success.

• High competition: Amazon has millions of active sellers, making it challenging for new or small businesses to stand out. Differentiating products and attracting customers can be difficult when so many other similar products are available.

• Guidelines and Policies: Strict adherence to Amazon and Walmart’s guidelines, including product quality standards, shipping requirements, and customer service expectations, is crucial for sellers to avoid account suspension/termination and subsequent revenue losses.

Fortunately, Optiwise.ai can help businesses navigate the complexities of marketplace regulations, list products, or reactivate suspended accounts. Optiwise.ai offers various tools and solutions to help sellers comply with marketplace guidelines and policies. These include automated compliance checks, listing optimization tools, and account reinstatement services.

• High referral fees: FBA fees can eat into profits, and advertising costs can quickly add up without a guaranteed return on investment. It’s essential for businesses to carefully consider the costs and benefits of these services before using them.

• Limited control on consumer management: Amazon owns the customer data and can use it to promote other products or services. This can make it challenging for sellers to build long-term customer relationships and create brand loyalty.

The Final Word

Optiwise.ai is an end-to-end solution for businesses looking to overcome the limitations of selling on Walmart Marketplace. It helps companies to navigate Walmart’s strict policies and guidelines by providing them with the tools and resources needed to list products, optimize listings, and reactivate suspended accounts.