Walmart is a vast retail giant, ranking #1 in the U.S., leading in online groceries, and holding the #2 spots in the eCommerce platform hierarchy. With over 80 million products on Walmart Marketplace, standing out as a seller is challenging. That’s where advertising comes in.
Through this guide, we are here to help you understand how to advertise on Walmart Marketplace, covering everything from the types of ads to costs. Learn how to make your business shine, reach more shoppers, and boost sales.
If you need quick and professional help with Walmart advertising, our eCommerce management experts at eMarspro are ready to help you. Contact us at +1-682-472-4939 to start making your mark in the Walmart retail space.
Why You Should Advertise on Walmart
Walmart.com, being a retail giant, possesses the capability to ignite your advertising endeavours. As one of the preeminent e-commerce platforms, it presents a valuable opportunity to establish connections with an extensive demographic. The influence of sponsored products on Walmart Marketplace is significant, as it attracts more than 110 million monthly visitors through its selling strategy like Walmart rollback and a continuously growing community of vendors – an indispensable asset in the current digital age of retail.
Regarding the First Mover Advantage, it is noteworthy that Walmart focuses on an estimated 100,000 sellers, whereas Amazon possesses an impressive 1.9 million. This facilitates the strategic expansion of your business through the placement of high-quality advertisements at a reduced cost per click (CPC). In order to enhance brand recognition and guarantee an exceptional customer experience, strategically targeting discounts at Walmart is a transformative move.
Let us now examine the recent advancements made by Walmart in the world of advertising. Unified Sponsored Products Campaigns increase consumer engagement and impressions by placing your advertisements in prominent real estate on Walmart Marketplace and Pickup & Delivery. Getting a competitive edge through platform-level reporting and targeting lets you accurately judge how well ads are working and where they should be placed based on the platform being used.
In addition, the Shopify integration streamlines the Walmart Marketplace membership process for DTC (direct-to-consumer) vendors. The uninterrupted linkage guarantees the integration of the product without incurring supplementary maintenance expenses. Utilising advertising on Walmart represents a highly effective approach to attracting attention and enhancing one’s market share within the highly competitive eCommerce sector. Investigate the potential of Walmart’s personalised advertising to avoid missing out.
Walmart Connect Ad Types
Having understood the importance of advertising at Walmart, let’s explore the diverse ad types offered by Walmart Connect for sellers:
1. Search Grid Ads: Boost Your Walmart Listing.
In Walmart Marketplace, Search Grid Ads offer a chance to give your product listings a boost and skip them ahead of some regular search results. They’ll appear like other items but with a ‘sponsored product’ marker. You have control over your budget and maximum bids, much like other CPC (Cost-Per-Click) services.
To qualify for Search Grid Ads on Walmart Marketplace, your product must meet specific criteria:
- It should be in stock.
- Eligible to win the buy box.
- Within the top three pages (128 products) of organic search.
- Relevant to the search query.
- Similar product type as one or more of the top 20 organic results.
These requirements overlap, and if your listing is already optimized and relevant, it’s likely to be among those top 128 products. Since ad performance impacts organic search on Walmart, using Search Grid Ads is an effective way to enhance the visibility of a new product.
2. Carousel Ads: Elevate Your Product Showcase
Carousel ads on Walmart Marketplace offer a dynamic way for customers to compare products during their browsing journey. Sponsoring a listing to feature in a carousel alongside organic results provides a strategic advantage, presenting an opportunity to capture a conversion from your competitors. Notably, your listing doesn’t necessarily have to be among the top 128 organic results to qualify for this impactful ad format.
Key Features and Benefits
Versatile Placement: Walmart strategically places carousels in various high-traffic areas on the site, including the homepage through featured products, search results, category and browse pages, curated shelves and personalized shopper pages.
Competition Advantage: By appearing in a carousel, your sponsored listing stands out, offering a compelling visual comparison with other products. This can sway customer decisions in your favour and increase the likelihood of conversions.
Diverse Exposure: Carousels provide exposure in multiple key locations, ensuring that your products are showcased across Walmart’s online platform in various contexts.
No Limitation to Organic Ranking: Unlike some other ad types, carousel ads don’t require your listing to be within the top 128 organic results. This flexibility makes it an accessible option for a wide range of products.
Whether on the homepage, search results, or individual product listings, carousel ads offer sellers a versatile and engaging tool to enhance their product visibility, stand out from the competition, and ultimately drive conversions on Walmart Marketplace.
3. Brand Amplifier: Enhance Your Brand Recognition
For brands offering a range of related products, the Brand Amplifier feature on Walmart Marketplace presents a valuable opportunity to enhance overall brand recognition. By allocating budget towards this strategic investment, brands can target specific keywords, enabling the display of their logo, strapline, and up to three SKUs in a dedicated on-page banner.
Key Features and Benefits
Targeted Keyword Placement: With Brand Amplifier, you can strategically target keywords relevant to your brand and products. This ensures that your banner is displayed when users search for specific terms, increasing your brand’s visibility.
Dedicated On-Page Banner: The Brand Amplifier feature provides a dedicated on-page banner, allowing you to showcase your logo, strapline, and a selection of products. This comprehensive presentation helps in building a cohesive brand identity.
Omnichannel Integration: For brands with a presence in both online and brick-and-mortar Walmart stores, Brand Amplifier aligns with an omnichannel strategy. It enables your brand to be recognized by the vast audience researching online before making in-store purchases.
Recognition for Physical Store Shoppers: The on-page banner created by Brand Amplifier serves as a visual cue for online shoppers who may later visit physical Walmart stores. This recognition factor is crucial for maintaining brand consistency across different shopping channels.
4. Buy Box: Seize the Final Moments of Conversion
The Buy Box feature, which is only available in automatic campaigns, turns out to be a useful tool for planning. The Buy Box is a one-of-a-kind chance because it is set up as an alternative or addition to the goods the customer sees. By sponsoring a listing in this highly sought-after spot, your product is shown to users at the end of their trip, when they are most likely to convert.
Key Features and Benefits
Automatic Campaign Exclusivity: The Buy Box is specifically available within automatic campaigns. It provides a distinct advantage for sellers looking to optimize their advertising strategy.
Strategic Placement: Appearing at the end of a user’s journey, your product can potentially steal a sale from the competition before the critical point of conversion. Your sponsored listing is strategically positioned to address any lingering customer doubts about the product they are browsing.
Alternative Suggestions: In the Buy Box, you can provide alternative suggestions, beneficial if the customer is uncertain about the current product. This positions your offering as a compelling alternative, increasing the likelihood of a successful conversion.
Cross-Sell Opportunities: Even if the customer is not considering an alternative, the Buy Box becomes a platform for introducing related products they may also need. This opens the door to cross-selling opportunities, maximizing the value of each customer interaction.
5. Display Advertising: Extending Your Brand’s Reach
Walmart Marketplace allows brands to expand their presence beyond search results through display advertising, akin to Google ads.
This versatile advertising option allows you to connect with new customers in two impactful ways:
On-site Display Ads
Engaging ad creative is utilized to showcase your products directly on the Walmart site or the brand’s apps. By leveraging the vast user data collected by Walmart, on-site display ads enable precise targeting, ensuring your ads reach the right audience effectively.
Off-site Display Ads
With off-site display ads, brands can implement retargeting strategies to remind customers of products they viewed but didn’t purchase. These ads extend beyond Walmart’s platform, appearing on social media and third-party sites. The goal is to re-engage the audience and guide them back to Walmart to complete their purchase.
Key Features and Benefits
Comprehensive Brand Exposure: Display advertising allows brands to go beyond search results, providing a holistic approach to brand exposure.
Engaging Ad Creative: Whether on-site or off-site, brands can use compelling ad creative to capture the audience’s attention and leave a lasting impression.
Precise Targeting: On-site display ads benefit from Walmart’s rich user data, enabling advertisers to precisely target their ads, reaching audiences most likely to be interested in their products.
Retargeting Strategies: Off-site display ads leverage retargeting to bring back potential customers who showed interest but didn’t purchase. This serves as a potent reminder and encourages re-engagement.
Multi-Platform Reach: Display ads reach customers on various platforms, including social media and third-party sites, ensuring a broad and diverse audience is exposed to your brand.
By incorporating display advertising into your Walmart Marketplace strategy, you enhance brand visibility within Walmart’s ecosystem and extend your reach to external platforms.
Getting Started with Walmart Marketplace Advertising
Embarking on Walmart advertising for your products involves a series of straightforward steps, maintaining Walmart’s high standards for sellers.
Here’s a simplified guide to kickstart your advertising journey:
Apply to Become a Walmart Seller
Spend 10-15 minutes applying to become a Walmart Marketplace seller, providing details about your business, online sales figures, and eCommerce track record.
Approval and Retailer Agreement:
Sign a retainer agreement, complete your seller profile, and link your payment account upon approval. You can then start uploading product descriptions using either the “Setup by match” or “Full item spec” method.
Order Testing:
Perform order testing to ensure your store is fully operational and ready for customer transactions.
Walmart Connect Application:
Apply individually to Walmart Connect, providing your company name, product information, the type of products you sell, the number of SKUs you plan to sell on Walmart, your campaign objectives, audience details, and the budget for your ad campaigns.
Approval Process:
Walmart Connect individually approves brands, requiring a minimum monthly spend of $1000. Approval criteria aren’t disclosed, but successful brands must attend a webinar before running ads.
Access Walmart Ad Center:
Log into Walmart Ad Center to initiate your ad creation process.
Campaign Setup:
Navigate to the ‘Campaigns’ tab and select ‘Create a new campaign.’ Choose between automatic or manual targeting based on your preferences.
Budgeting and Targeting:
Set the budget for your campaign, including any bid multipliers. For manual campaigns, specify placement type and target keywords.
Ad Group Creation:
Establish an ad group and assign products to it, finalizing your ad setup.
With these steps, you’re ready to launch your ads on Walmart Marketplace, reaching a vast audience and maximizing the visibility of your products.
Understanding the Costs of Advertising on Walmart Marketplace
Advertising on Walmart Marketplace comes with specific costs and considerations to ensure an effective and profitable campaign. Let’s break down the key aspects:
No Setup or Recurring Fees: Walmart Marketplace doesn’t impose any upfront setup or recurring fees for advertisers.
Referral Fees: Walmart charges referral fees based on the products you sell. Referral fees vary across sectors. Beauty products incur around 15%, and other video game consoles have an approximate 8% fee. You can also explore Walmart’s website for a detailed list of referral fees by sector.
While Walmart Marketplace offers a fee-friendly advertising environment with no setup or recurring charges, understanding referral fees, compliance with Walmart’s policy, prioritizing customer experience, and leveraging data are crucial elements for a successful and cost-effective advertising strategy on the platform.
Are you looking to Advertise on Walmart Marketplace? Turn to eMarspro – Your Trusted eCommerce Management Partner.
eMarspro stands as a reliable ally for all sizes of businesses globally. Our seasoned advertising experts specialize in Walmart, Amazon, and various marketplaces, implementing result-driven strategies to elevate your sales and amplify your online presence.
Feel free to reach out for detailed information or inquiries about Walmart Marketplace advertising. Contact us or ring at +1-682-472-4939.
