Why it matters: Walmart on Monday said it is opening up its online marketplace to Shopify, an all-in-one e-commerce platform that services more than one million sellers. With the integration, Walmart is looking to focus on small and medium businesses in the US whose products complement theirs and have a solid track record of exceeding customers' expectations.
The well-timed partnership looks to leverage the surge in online shopping brought about by the global pandemic. According to its most recent earnings report, Walmart's US e-commerce business grew 74 percent in the first quarter.
The deal should benefit all parties involved. Consumers will have access to a wider assortment of goods while third-party sellers will have the opportunity to take advantage of the sort of traffic that Walmart.com generates and further build their business. According to this landing page, sellers can get their products in front of 120 million monthly online visitors.
Share value in Shopify is up nearly six percent on the news. Walmart is holding steady although down a bit after hitting a peak in mid-April during the height of the pandemic.
Walmart said it will start adding Shopify sellers to its marketplace ASAP and expects to have around 1,200 sellers on its roster by the end of the year. At present, Walmart's marketplace already offers more than 75 million unique products.
Sellers interested in joining Walmart's marketplace are encouraged to download the Walmart app on the Shopify App store.
Masthead credit: Ivan Kruk