Dropshipping From Walmart To Shopify | Everything To Know About

This article will explore how dropshipping from Walmart to Shopify can help ecommerce merchants scale up their businesses and everything you need to know to execute the Walmart dropshipping to Shopify.

Key Takeaways

• Connecting a Walmart seller account to a Shopify store automatically syncs products, inventory levels, and orders between the platforms.
• Partnering Walmart’s massive customer base with Shopify’s tools gives sellers streamlined access to Walmart shoppers while retaining branded storefront control.

What is Walmart dropshipping, and How does it work?

What is Walmart dropshipping? 

Dropshipping products sold by Walmart is a great opportunity for eCommerce sellers to tap into one of the largest retailer’s customer bases. It involves selling items through Walmart as the supplier on marketplaces or leveraging Walmart’s inventory to fulfill orders placed on other platforms through dropshipping. 

There are three main approaches to running a Walmart dropshipping business. One is becoming an approved drop shipping vendor for Walmart directly. 

How does Walmart dropshipping work?

Walmart dropshipping provides sellers a unique opportunity to capitalize on Walmart’s extensive network and infrastructure without stocking or shipping any products themselves. Through Walmart’s marketplace, merchants can select from Walmart’s vast catalog of existing inventory to sell on their virtual storefront. When a customer purchases, the order information is automatically passed to Walmart for fulfillment. 

At this point, Walmart takes care of packaging and shipping the product directly to the buyer while also handling any customer service needs that may arise. Merchants can reach Walmart’s massive audience but avoid the upfront costs associated with procurement, warehousing, and order fulfillment that come with traditional retail. 

As a result, dropshipping through Walmart allows entrepreneurs to profit from sales without investing in physical inventory or shipping logistics. Walmart can be challenging but worth pursuing due to its sales and growth potential.

Pros & Cons of Walmart Dropshipping to Shopify

Pros

Combining Walmart with Shopify offers merchants a chance to expand their ecommerce presence greatly:

• Enhanced Brand Recognition: The integration taps into Walmart’s vast customer base, allowing Shopify sellers to bolster their industry status without the typical high costs of initial investments.
• Unlimited Product Listings: Merchants can feature endless products and benefit from quality images already on Walmart. This increased visibility is pivotal in bolstering brand awareness and drawing new clientele.
• Customizable Storefront: Walmart’s marketplace app grants Shopify sellers the flexibility to tailor their online store, ensuring an optimal shopping experience for every visitor.
• Transparent Pricing: Walmart champions a clear pricing model, free from hidden costs. Services like account setup come without extra charges, allowing sellers to direct their energies toward brand and sales growth.
• Holistic Benefits: Overall, the Walmart-Shopify synergy offers a potent mix of vast customer access, brand enhancement, diverse sales channels, and financial clarity.
• Brand Boost: By tapping into Walmart’s large customer base, Shopify sellers can elevate their brand prominence without incurring hefty initial marketing expenses.
• Personalized Online Presence: The Walmart marketplace app provides customization options for Shopify storefronts. This means sellers can refine and tailor their online space, ensuring an ideal browsing experience for every visitor.

Cons

• Intense Competition: With Walmart being a significant marketplace, Shopify sellers face stiff competition from established brands and other dropshippers, making it challenging to stand out.
• Fee Structures: While Walmart’s pricing may be transparent, the cumulative costs, including referral fees and other charges, can eat into a seller’s profit margins.
• Stringent Guidelines: Walmart has rigorous seller performance standards. Not meeting these can result in account suspensions or reduced visibility.
• Inventory Challenges: Real-time inventory synchronization between Walmart and Shopify is crucial. Any discrepancies can lead to order cancellations and dissatisfied customers.
• Potential Brand Dilution: Selling on a massive platform like Walmart might reduce brand recognition for Shopify sellers, as products can get lost among thousands of other listings.
• Customer Service Demands: Handling customer queries, returns, and refunds on a larger scale can be demanding, especially if sellers are unprepared for the increased volume.

In summary, while integrating Walmart with Shopify offers growth avenues, it also presents certain challenges that sellers must be prepared to navigate.

Fees To DropShip From Walmart To Shopify

Here is the summary of the most recent fees related to dropshipping activities from Walmart to Shopify:

Listing Fee:

Shopify doesn’t charge fees specifically for listing products. You can list as many items as you want without incurring individual listing fees.

Subscription Fee:

Shopify offers various subscription plans. The most basic is the “Basic Shopify” at $39/mo, the standard “Shopify” at $105/mo, and the “Advanced Shopify” at $399/mo. Each comes with its own features, but all allow you to list and sell products.

Apps Fee:

Shopify has an App Store with free and paid apps to enhance your store. Depending on your chosen apps, costs can range from $0 to $50/mo or even more for some specialized tools. Popular dropshipping apps often have monthly fees, but exact costs depend on the app.

Suppliers Fee:

Product prices are the primary costs when sourcing from Walmart. Since you’re buying retail from Walmart and selling at a markup, consider the retail price as the “supplier” cost. This price varies based on the product you’re sourcing.

Shipping Fee:

Shipping costs depend on the method chosen. Walmart often offers free shipping for orders over $35, but charges can vary widely for faster shipping or items below this threshold. Additionally, if you offer expedited shipping options to your customers, your costs will increase.

For a successful dropshipping operation from Walmart to Shopify, it’s crucial to account for all these costs when pricing your items. Regularly review these expenses to ensure you’re covering them and making a profit.

Key Features 

“Sold by Walmart” Filter

Merchants can select selling only “Sold by Walmart” inventory items or any supplier’s products on Walmart. Products in the “Sold by Walmart” category ensure the vendor receives excellent customer service support from Walmart and the fast shipping speeds Walmart is known for. 

This filter allows sellers to use Walmart’s high-quality support network and efficient delivery times for eligible items. They can thus provide customers with a smoother shopping and purchase experience when sourcing directly from Walmart’s product selection. This provides flexibility while tapping into the benefits of partnering more closely with Walmart for selected inventory.

Automatic Shipping Price Calculation

For inventory items that do not qualify for free shipping through Walmart’s shipping programs, AutoDS will automatically determine the shipping cost and incorporate it into the total selling price presented to customers. This eliminates the need for merchants to manually calculate and list shipping charges for each item without a free shipping option. 

AutoDS seamlessly handles accounting for delivery fees, so the final price displayed reflects the actual cost to the buyer from start to receipt of their order. Sellers benefit from one fully integrated price that avoids confusion over unlisted shipping costs. This automatic shipping calculation simplifies the pricing process for vendors and enhances the shopping experience for customers through transparent up-front pricing.

Price Optimization Features

Walmart offers a price adjustment for customers if an item they bought sees a price drop within the return period. If customers notice their purchased item now costs less, they can contact Walmart’s customer service. The price difference is then refunded as store credit. 

This policy ensures buyers benefit from recent price drops and encourages more shopping at Walmart. It gives peace of mind to shoppers, knowing they won’t miss out on any price reductions. By honoring this lower pricing, Walmart strengthens its bond with customers, ensuring trust and loyalty through its customer-centric approach to pricing.

Price & Stock Monitoring

Walmart provides efficient tools for merchants to monitor pricing and inventory across their sales platforms. By integrating with the Shopify dashboard, sellers can:

• Easily track product prices on Walmart.com.
• Receive automated alerts about competitor price changes, allowing them to adjust their prices to remain competitive.
• Stay informed with real-time inventory levels at Walmart fulfillment centers. This ensures they know when stock is low, helping them reorder quickly and avoid missing potential sales.
• Make informed, quick business decisions using combined insights on pricing and stock. This allows sellers to tweak listings, set optimal prices, and manage inventory for maximum customer satisfaction and profit.

Overall, these centralized tools simplify business operations and give merchants a clear view of their sales performance on Walmart.com.

Variations Support

Walmart’s marketplace, integrated with Shopify, offers advanced variation features to help merchants tap into a broader market:

• Sellers can list all product variations at once, like sizes, colors, or package amounts.
• Inventory for a chosen product variation gets auto-updated in real-time after a purchase, ensuring stock accuracy.
• Using variations increases product options without creating multiple listings. This meets the needs of customers looking for slightly different product features.
• Managing inventory becomes simpler as all variations fall under a single-parent listing.
• The system seamlessly synchronizes variation details between Shopify and Walmart, saving merchants valuable time.
• In essence, Walmart’s efficient variation tools pave the way for sellers to address specific customer preferences and expand their market reach.

Advanced Chrome Extension

Walmart’s robust Chrome extension streamlines merchant operations, integrating seamlessly with the Shopify dashboard:

• The tool offers real-time updates and insights directly in the Chrome browser, making management straightforward.
• From any Chrome device, merchants can effortlessly monitor pricing, stock, sales, and orders for their Walmart listings.
• They can quickly access in-depth sales analytics, helping identify top-selling products, market trends, and customer reviews.
• Immediate alerts on competitor pricing, dwindling stock, or order changes enable merchants to act promptly, be it altering prices, reordering stock, or updating product details.

This all-in-one tool in Chrome helps sellers efficiently operate their Walmart businesses, providing real-time data and actions at their fingertips.

Why to dropship from Walmart to Shopify

Convenience

Using Walmart for dropshipping offers several convenient advantages:

• Product Listing Optimization: Walmart’s team handles listing details to boost visibility and ensure top organic search rankings.
• Increased Exposure: Items sold and fulfilled by Walmart get priority, enhancing the chance for a merchant’s product to be chosen through the “Buy Box” feature.
• Logistics Management: Walmart handles delivery logistics, letting merchants prioritize inventory sourcing and marketing tasks.
• Customer Service: Walmart handles customer concerns, including cancellations and refunds, freeing sellers from these responsibilities.

Dropshipping with Walmart simplifies operations, allowing sellers to focus on growing their brand.

Large customer bases

Using Walmart for dropshipping offers notable advantages in terms of large customer bases:

• Massive Reach: Walmart, a global giant, services over 230 million customers weekly, presenting a vast customer pool for merchants.
• Ideal for New Sellers: Those new to the market can tap into Walmart’s broad audience, helping them gain traction faster.
• Trust Factor: Customers often feel more at ease buying items affiliated with Walmart’s trusted name than lesser-known third-party brands.
• Reputation Boost: Walmart’s known value pricing and efficient customer service can enhance the trustworthiness of dropshipping merchants on the platform.

In short, partnering with Walmart for dropshipping can significantly elevate a merchant’s brand presence and trustworthiness.

Low start-up costs

Walmart’s dropshipping is a suitable choice for small businesses and budding entrepreneurs who have low start-up costs for operation:

• Minimal Initial Investment: With Walmart handling inventory stocking, businesses can start selling without a hefty investment upfront.
• Reduced Operational Costs: Walmart’s management of warehousing, delivery, and related tasks cuts down expenses. This lets vendors allocate resources to other vital areas, promoting growth.
• No Entry Fees: Unlike platforms like eBay or Amazon, which may charge considerable fees, Walmart allows new sellers to set up accounts and begin marketplace sales at no cost.
• Budget-Friendly for Startups: The lack of initial financial obligations eases the burden on newly established brands, ensuring their limited budgets aren’t stretched thin.

In essence, Walmart dropshipping provides a cost-effective, low-risk avenue for businesses to kickstart their ventures.

Benefits of Dropshipping From Walmart To Shopify

Dropshipping From Walmart To Shopify | Step-By-Step

Below is the summary of basic steps that every merchant needs to prepare for dropshipping from Walmart to Shopify.

In case you need a full review of detailed steps-by-steps on dropshipping from Walmart to Shopify, please view our latest article on: “How To Dropship From Walmart To Shopify | Ultimate Guide”

Step 1: Set up your online storefront on the Shopify platform

Selling directly on Walmart isn’t the same as dropshipping and might be less profitable for newcomers. Dropshipping through Shopify, using Walmart offers a more optimized earning approach.

Before starting, set up your Shopify store to boost your brand’s credibility with potential customers:

• Go to your Shopify admin settings and access the app installation feature.
• Use the provided tools to create a sleek and professional store design.

Once your store is up:

• Choose Walmart products to dropship.
• Add products individually or bulk-upload multiple items directly to your store.

The integration also allows for bulk editing, making it easier to manage listings. Using Shopify for your dropshipping endeavor can enhance profits and reduce risks compared to only selling directly on Walmart.

Step 2: Set up your Walmart store by meeting the prerequisites for international sellers

Walmart has specific requirements for international sellers:

• A US entity or business address.
• An international return address.
• The ability to ship products from US warehouses.
• Products must have valid identifiers.

If you meet these conditions, you can access Walmart’s marketplace:

• Start by clicking the ‘Request to Sell’ button online.
• Follow the five-step application process.
• After submitting, Walmart takes about two weeks to review.
• Once approved, international sellers can set up their Walmart store and start dropshipping.

Step 3: Integrating the two sales channels

Connecting Walmart to Shopify:

• In your Shopify admin settings, link your Walmart seller page by entering its unique URL.
• This connection ensures that orders from your Shopify store are automatically sent to Walmart for fulfillment.

Automation Advantages:

• Once linked, the dropshipping process becomes fully automated.
• Orders from Shopify are instantly sent to Walmart for shipping without the seller’s intervention.

Integration Features:

• Both platforms automatically synced new orders, inventory adjustments, and real-time order status updates.
• This allows sellers to focus on marketing and sales while backend operations run smoothly behind the scenes.

Step 4: Optimizing your Walmart seller dashboard profile

Setting Up Your Digital Storefront:

• Proper setup boosts credibility and improves the customer experience.
• Use your Walmart dashboard’s “Profiling Section” to enter your business details.

Importance of Accurate Information:

• Share details about your company, products, return policies, and contact points.
• This transparency builds trust with potential buyers and gives an authentic feel.

Benefits:

• A filled-out seller profile enhances your online store’s presence.
• Displaying clear company information makes customers more confident in their purchases.

Step 5: Provide Customer – Centric Support

Given Walmart’s intense focus on providing excellent customer service, sellers must adopt the same customer-centric mindset. Interacting with buyers in a helpful, transparent manner builds trust and positive shopping experiences. 

Use Walmart’s built-in PRICE MATCHING features to attract more customers as an additional promotion tactic. Changing your prices strategically on important items can gain consumer attention against competitors, thus driving higher sales volumes over time. 

Top tips for dropshipping on Walmart

Selling on the competitive Walmart marketplace brings opportunities for prepared entrepreneurs. Thorough product research is vital to identify high-demand categories and best-selling items to offer. Following these best practices allows motivated dropshippers to find their niche and satisfy Walmart shoppers on the platform.

Delight customers with fast shipping

• Walmart’s URL promotes its one-stop back-to-school shopping with fast, free delivery and returns.
• Fast shipping entices about 70% of online shoppers, urging Walmart dropshippers to focus on delivery speed.
• Responding to demand, Walmart offers two-day and three-day shipping for extra fees.
• Despite the cost, faster deliveries can raise sales by 30-50% and enhance conversion rates.
• Merchants with speedy deliveries get better visibility, even in the coveted Buy Box.
• To compete, dropshippers should partner with reliable suppliers for timely order fulfillment.
• Verifying partner shipping speeds is vital to meet customer expectations and capitalize on Walmart’s visibility rewards.

Keep a close eye on your performance standards

• Walmart has tightened merchant eligibility criteria to enhance its marketplace.
• Sellers should watch key metrics like defect rates and on-time shipping, aiming for less than 2% defects and above 99% in other areas.
• The Seller Center offers tools to track these performance metrics against set targets.
• Customer reviews also impact evaluations.
• Failure to meet standards can lead to account sanctions.
• Dropshippers need to consistently meet Walmart’s benchmarks to benefit from promotions and higher visibility.
• Adhering to quality and shipping guidelines is crucial for sellers to tap into Walmart’s vast customer base.

Optimize your product listings

• After uploading products to Walmart, dropshippers should optimize item pages to boost sales.
• Effective tactics include using clear photos and focusing descriptions on benefits, not just features.
• Listings should have competitive prices while maintaining profit margins.
• Earning positive reviews through excellent customer service enhances product appeal at Walmart.
• The Shopify Walmart app provides centralized control for bulk creation and listing updates.
• This app also aligns existing Walmart inventory for uniform management.
• Through the Shopify dashboard, sellers can manage order updates, shipping, payments, and inventory across platforms like Walmart to prevent overselling.

Dropshipping From Walmart To Shopify: FAQs

Conclusion

Selling through Walmart drop shipping presents an exciting chance for eCommerce businesses to expand their reach and attract new customers. By following the steps in this guide, sellers can effortlessly establish their Walmart drop shipping operation.