🚀 This Week’s Walmart Hack: Nail the Walmart Customer Avatar

One of the most common mistakes that I see Amazon sellers transitioning over to Walmart make is using the exact same brand and product images on both sites.

And trust me, I get it. I know how many hours are put into perfecting your image on Amazon. Planning, testing, and fine-tuning until everything is just right. I’ve gone through that process many times, working on my own brands and alongside many of you!

So I understand the impulse to re-use the same visuals that we’ve perfected to help us stand out against the competition to Amazon customers. But therein lies the key point- we’re after Walmart customers now. And they are a completely different breed of shopper!

What makes them different? Let’s consider how these two brands got to where they are today.

• After getting its start in public sales as an online bookstore in 1995, Amazon quickly expanded to selling a much wider range of products by the turn of the century. Amazon revolutionized the way we shopped, giving us easy access to everything we needed (and plenty of things we didn’t, but wanted anyway!) delivered right to our doors. With its super generous return policy and increasingly quicker shipping over the last 20 years, Amazon has taken the sting out of impulse buying and trying new products.
   

• Walmart, on the other hand, built its brand as an American retail staple long before it ever entered the online world. The original Wal-Mart Discount City store opened in 1962, and the brand steadily grew with hundreds and eventually thousands of stores nationwide (and beyond). Walmart became synonymous with low prices and negotiating deals with trustworthy brands like Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble.

Many of the consumers who use Walmart’s Online Marketplace are looking for the same value, trustworthiness, and brand recognition they typically find in their local brick-and-mortar Walmart stores.

With all of this in mind, you can see how gimmicks or playful images that may entice Amazon shoppers who are more open-minded and less brand-conscious could scare off Walmart shoppers in search of safer options.

I’d recommend building a foundation with clean and professional visuals to establish your brand as one that belongs among the trusted names that resonate with the average Walmart shopper. After you’ve built trust in your brand and products on the Walmart Marketplace, you’ll have a bit more leeway for experimentation.

As some homework, go ahead and do some browsing on the Walmart app. You will notice a stark difference. Walmart relies on CLEAN images, 3D customer experience, and a heavy emphasis on brand story. Make sure you pay close attention to bullet points and the “From the Brand” section.

Oh, one more thing. You might be reading this and assume that your premium price on Amazon won’t do well on Amazon because you assume the income level is lower. That is old news. Walmart is becoming increasingly popular with the top 1% and it’s being driven by top Instagrammers and wicked fast delivery times. Walmart is quickly turning into the “America Store” and it shows. I want YOU to get in on this gravy train before the secret is out.

🔥 Hot Walmart Seller News: Walmart Folding Means Simplicity for YOU

Yes, you ARE reading that correctly! Walmart has just made a major concession that many sellers on the platform have been clamoring for.

Walmart sellers are now officially allowed to use Amazon’s Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) to fulfill Walmart Marketplace orders using their Amazon FBA inventory! This marks a complete 180-degree turn from Walmart’s previous stance on the matter, which was to dish out a PERMANENT account suspension if you were caught doing this.

If you plan on taking advantage of this exciting new feature, be sure to remain compliant with these two key rules:

1. No Amazon Branded Packaging – Products shipped to Walmart customers can not display any Amazon logos or promotions on the box.
    

2. No Amazon Shipping Logistics – Sellers must use USPS, UPS or FedEx to fulfill Walmart orders. Amazon Prime deliveries are not allowed on Walmart Marketplace orders.

These two rules make plenty of sense. Imagine the confusion if our Pizza Hut delivery driver showed up in a Domino’s uniform with a pizza in a Domino’s box?

I’m in favor of any policy change that gives sellers more options and makes life easier. But beyond the logistics, I’m excited by the flexibility and adaptability on display from Walmart here.

Instead of trying to force sellers to make a CHOICE between Amazon and Walmart, the company is embracing the reality that businesses want to thrive and reach customers across multiple platforms. Synergy between these two e-commerce titans is a win-win for sellers and consumers alike.

So let’s keep collecting these wins!

🙏 THANK YOU for reading this week’s edition!

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That’s it for this week!

— Jon