Selling on Walmart vs Amazon: A Marketplace Comparison for Sellers Looking to Grow Their eCommerce Business

You are not alone if you are an Amazon seller considering the Walmart Marketplace as your next sales channel. With Walmart’s rapidly growing eCommerce platform, many online sellers and entrepreneurs are weighing the pros and cons of selling on Walmart vs Amazon. 

Before diving in, it is essential to understand how selling on Walmart compares to Amazon in terms of visibility, competition, fees, and customer behavior. Achieving success on this platform also requires staying competitive on price, so selecting the best Walmart repricer can be a game-changer.

Key Differences When Selling on Walmart vs Amazon

Walmart and Amazon provide significant growth opportunities for third-party sellers, but their platforms operate on different principles and mechanics. Here is a comparison of the key differences influencing the overall seller experience.

1. Marketplace and Customer Expectations

• Amazon boasts over 300 million active users worldwide and has a presence in more than 20 countries. Its customer base has come to expect fast, often free shipping through Amazon Prime, leading to high expectations for quick delivery and seamless service.
• In contrast, Walmart primarily focuses on the U.S. market and leverages its network of physical Walmart stores, serving over 150 million online shoppers monthly. It is rapidly expanding its eCommerce capabilities. Walmart shoppers are notably price-conscious, prioritizing competitive pricing and deals, influencing the marketplace’s growth strategy.

2. Competition

• With the Amazon marketplace heavily saturated, many third-party sellers depend on aggressive advertising and dynamic pricing tools like Amazon repricers to stay competitive. On average, sellers allocate 20% to 40% of their revenue to advertising alone.
• Walmart’s marketplace is less crowded. Its strict onboarding process, which requires a business tax ID, helps filter out less-qualified sellers and makes it easier for serious sellers to stand out, even without large ad budgets.

3. Customer Behavior

• Amazon customers greatly value convenience, speed, and reliability. The platform’s advanced recommendation algorithms and a strong emphasis on customer reviews and brand reputation create a highly personalized shopping experience that fosters customer loyalty and encourages repeat purchases.
• Walmart’s Everyday Low Prices (EDLP) principle reinforces its appeal to price-conscious shoppers, making competitive pricing crucial for conversion rates. As a result, effective pricing strategies and tools such as Walmart repricers have become essential for helping sellers stay competitive and attract budget-conscious consumers.

4. Fees and Cost Structure

Understanding each platform’s cost structure is crucial for maintaining profitability when selling on Walmart vs Amazon. While both marketplaces charge referral and fulfillment fees, their pricing models differ. 

Selling on Amazon involves multiple fees:

Monthly Subscription Fee:  Professional Amazon sellers pay a $39.99 monthly subscription fee to unlock advanced selling tools and features. Those on the Individual plan are charged instead on a per-item and per-order basis ($0.99/ item sold), making it more suitable for low-volume sellers.

Referral Fees: Amazon charges a percentage of each sale, which typically ranges from 8% to 15%, depending on the product category.

Fulfillment Fees: Sellers using Fulfillment by Amazon (Amazon FBA) incur additional costs for storage, packing, and shipping services.

Advertising Costs: To maintain visibility in a competitive marketplace, sellers often invest significantly in advertising, especially in Amazon Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands.

In contrast, Walmart Marketplace offers a more cost-effective structure:

No Monthly Subscription Fee: Sellers can list products without incurring any monthly charges.

Referral Fees:  Fees vary by category and range from 5% to 15%.

Fulfillment Services: Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) offers competitive rates for storage and shipping with no hidden fees.

5. Buy Box Algorithm

Securing the Buy Box is crucial for enhancing visibility and conversions on both platforms, as each marketplace has unique criteria for selecting the featured seller.

• On Amazon, the Buy Box algorithm evaluates several factors, including product pricing, seller performance metrics (such as order defect rate and customer service), fulfillment method (with Amazon FBA, generally receiving preference), and historical sales performance. 
• The Walmart Buy Box gives more weight to price parity, particularly whether the item is priced lower on Amazon or other marketplaces. Walmart also emphasizes competitive pricing, reliable stock availability, and fast shipping through Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) or other preferred methods.

Winning the Walmart Buy Box often requires a pricing strategy different from Amazon’s approach. Understanding how the Buy Box operates on each platform is essential to effectively evaluate the challenges and tactics involved in selling on Walmart vs Amazon.

6. Fulfillment Models and Requirements

Choosing the right fulfillment model is a critical decision for both Amazon and Walmart Marketplace sellers. Each platform offers multiple options that impact shipping speed, costs, customer experience, and seller performance, but only after passing a mandatory business verification process.

Amazon Fulfillment Options

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA):

• Overview: Sellers send their products to Amazon’s fulfillment centers, and Amazon takes care of storage, packing, shipping, and customer service.
• Benefits: With Amazon FBA, sellers gain access to Amazon Prime customers, eligibility for the Amazon Buy Box, and assistance from Amazon’s customer service.
• Considerations: Amazon FBA fees normally include storage, fulfillment, and additional charges for long-term storage and product removal.

Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM):

• Overview: Amazon FBM sellers list their products on Amazon but manage storage, packing, and shipping independently.
• Benefits: FBM sellers have greater control over inventory and shipping processes, with potentially lower fees.
• Considerations: FBM sellers handle customer service, and Amazon returns themselves and may not qualify for Prime eligibility or the Buy Box.

Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP):

• Overview: Under Amazon SFP, Amazon sellers fulfill orders from their own facilities but must meet Amazon’s strict shipping and customer service standards to offer Prime shipping.
• Benefits: SFP sellers gain access to Prime customers without needing to send inventory to Amazon.
• Considerations: Selling under SFP requires meeting Amazon’s high-performance metrics, which may result in higher shipping costs.

Walmart Fulfillment Options

Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS):

• Overview: Third-party sellers send their products to Walmart’s fulfillment centers, where the Walmart Marketplace team manages storage, packing, shipping, customer service, and returns.
• Benefits: Walmart sellers gain access to Walmart’s customer base, eligibility for Two-Day shipping, and support from Walmart’s customer service.
• Considerations: Some Walmart fees associated with WFS include storage, fulfillment, and additional charges for oversized or hazardous items.

Seller Fulfilled Shipping (SFS):

• Overview: Under Walmart SFS, sellers list their products on Walmart while managing storage, packing, and shipping independently.
• Benefits: Sellers will have greater control over inventory and shipping processes and potentially lower fees.
• Considerations: Sellers need to manage customer service and returns, and may not qualify for Two-Day shipping.

Third-Party Fulfillment Providers:

• Overview: Sellers can partner with Walmart-approved third-party providers like Deliverr or ShipBob to fulfill orders.
• Benefits:  Walmart sellers also gain access to Walmart’s customer base and eligibility for two-day shipping despite outsourced fulfillment.
• Considerations: Sellers must maintain good relationships with third-party providers and ensure they meet Walmart’s fulfillment standards.

The comparison of fulfillment services mentioned above can assist sellers in determining which fulfillment option best meets their business needs,  whether selling on Walmart or Amazon. 

7. Advertising Solutions

• Amazon provides a comprehensive range of advertising solutions, including but not limited to Sponsored Ads, Audio Ads, Video Ads, and Display Ads. These advertising tools come with advanced targeting capabilities, which help sellers increase their visibility and drive sales.
• Walmart also has its own native advertising solutions, including Sponsored Search, Onsite Display, and Offsite Media. While the targeting options are improving, they are still more limited than those Amazon offers. However, the lower ad competition on Walmart results in more cost-effective visibility, especially for sellers who enter the market early.

8. Pricing Rules and Restrictions

Pricing is a crucial factor directly affecting listing visibility, Buy Box performance, and overall profitability on both Amazon and Walmart. However, each marketplace has unique rules, which require distinct pricing strategies. Sellers need to tailor their approaches accordingly.

Amazon Pricing Strategy

Amazon offers sellers considerable pricing flexibility. With fewer restrictions on price comparison across different channels, sellers can implement dynamic pricing models freely.

Many utilize automated Amazon repricers to adjust listing prices in real time and improve their chances of winning the Buy Box. This flexibility allows for more aggressive promotions, bundling tactics, and pricing tiers that can be modified based on demand and competition.

Walmart Pricing Policy

Walmart enforces a strict Price Parity policy. This policy requires that products listed on its marketplace should not be offered at a lower price on any other platform, such as Amazon or the seller’s eCommerce site. 

If Walmart identifies a lower price elsewhere, it may suppress or remove the listing entirely. This policy pressures sellers to maintain consistent pricing across all channels, making it challenging to balance competitive pricing and compliance.

These differences highlight why pricing automation is a key differentiator when comparing selling on Walmart vs Amazon. To stay competitive, third-party sellers need AI repricers that follow each platform’s rules and function seamlessly on both Amazon and Walmart.

Pros and Cons of Selling on Walmart vs Amazon

When deciding between Amazon and Walmart or managing both as sales channels, it is essential to recognize their unique advantages and limitations. Here is a breakdown to help you evaluate your options.

Selling on Amazon

Pros:

• Massive Customer Base: Sellers gain access to hundreds of millions of shoppers worldwide.
• Robust FBA Network: Marketplace brand owners benefit from fast, reliable fulfillment and eligibility for Prime shipping.
• Advanced Advertising Tools: Amazon gives you access to a comprehensive ad platform for effective targeting and scaling of campaigns.
• High Buy Box Potential: Sellers with optimized listings and good seller metrics can significantly enhance listing visibility and win the Buy Box.

Cons:

• Higher Fees: Amazon seller fees and subscriptions can accumulate quickly, which can be burdensome for newbie sellers.
• Intense Competition: The Amazon marketplace is highly saturated, including competition with Amazon itself.
• Price Wars: Aggressive Amazon repricing tactics are common in the marketplace, often leading to reduced profit margins.

Selling on Walmart

Pros:

• Lower Fees: Walmart sellers enjoy competitive referral fees and WFS fulfillment rates with no monthly subscription fee.
• Less Saturation: Third-party sellers or marketplace brand owners registered  on Walmart face lower competition in many categories or niches compared to Amazon
• Growing Platform: Walmart is actively increasing its customer reach and investing heavily in its eCommerce platform.
• Strict Price Parity: Walmart’s adherence to price parity reduces aggressive undercutting.

Cons:

• Stricter Pricing Rules: Walmart listings may be suppressed if they are found to be cheaper on other platforms.
• Limited Advertising Tools: Walmart offers fewer advertising options than Amazon’s extensive advertising solutions.
• Smaller Audience: Walmart Marketplace’s customer base is primarily based in the United States.

Selling on Walmart vs Amazon comes down to your specific product, strategy, and resources. Both platforms have distinct advantages, but success is not simply replicating your Amazon approach on the Walmart Marketplace. Each platform has its own rules, pricing structures, and customer behaviors.

Online sellers and entrepreneurs who tailor their strategies for Walmart while continuing to perform well on Amazon often experience greater growth and lower risks. For sellers looking to scale, selling on both platforms can be a wise decision.

Positioning for Success on Walmart and Amazon

Walmart presents an exciting and still-growing opportunity for eCommerce sellers, but success requires adapting unique strategies and seller tools. Using a platform-specific approach to fulfillment, pricing, and optimization instead of simply applying your Amazon strategies, you can position yourself for success on both marketplaces.

Carefully assessing the trade-offs, challenges, and advantages of selling on Walmart vs Amazon will enable you to make smarter decisions, protect your brand, and expand your business in 2025 and beyond.