Brands that perform well in Walmart’s physical stores are often missing major online revenue opportunities because they don’t fully tap into the strategic levers available on Walmart Marketplace.
When 1P suppliers—those selling products wholesale directly to Walmart—activate the right mix of pricing control, promotions, external traffic, fulfillment strategies, and data insights, they can significantly grow ecommerce performance and strengthen omnichannel results with Walmart overall.
1. Understanding the 1P vs. 3P Opportunity
First‑party (1P) suppliers sell to Walmart at wholesale, which means Walmart handles pricing, marketing, and fulfillment. In contrast, third‑party (3P) sellers have direct control over their listings, pricing, and customer experience themselves. Each model has strategic implications: 1P often delivers scalability and brand visibility via Walmart’s channels, while 3P offers greater control over pricing and brand representation.
For established brands with strong in‑store presence, leveraging 1P with targeted marketplace tactics unlocks advantages that aren’t always obvious with traditional account planning alone.
2. Marketplace Pricing and Promotion Levers
Pricing Control
Unlike being strictly bound by retail brick‑and‑mortar pricing strategies, brands can influence online pricing via the marketplace platform. This includes dynamic pricing during promotional events, strike‑through markdowns, or Flash Deals coordinated with seasonality. Controlled promotions help drive instant velocity and improve competitive positioning in Walmart search results.
Calendar‑Driven Promotions
Developing a promotional calendar for Walmart Marketplace—much like a retail promo planner—lets brands leverage high‑intent traffic periods. Coordinating Flash Deals and seasonal events elevates visibility and can feed ranking signals that benefit organic performance over time.
3. Stimulating External Traffic
Brands that invest in driving external traffic to their Walmart Store or product detail pages (PDPs) see compounding results. This includes:
- Google SEM campaigns that direct highly relevant search traffic to Walmart listings;
- Creator Boost or influencer‑driven reach that brings additional shoppers into Walmart search and browse ecosystems.
These external levers don’t work in isolation; they feed into Marketplace algorithms by increasing sessions, conversions, and sales rank—three components that lift organic discoverability.
4. Fulfillment Strategies That Boost Conversion
Fulfillment plays a significant role in online success:
- Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) gives brands access to fast delivery and pickup options, which customers increasingly prefer, and Walmart rewards in search ranking. Faster delivery helps listings convert better and reduces abandonment.
- Deciding when to leverage direct ship vs. marketplace fulfillment can impact listing performance, especially for items with heavy demand or seasonal spikes.
5. Data As the Competitive Edge
Many suppliers underestimate the power of marketplace data. Core metrics like Listing Quality Score (LQS), sales rank, and funnel analytics highlight where shoppers are dropping off, where listings outperform, and what needs optimization.
- Listing Quality Score (LQS) includes factors like content completeness, competitive pricing, and fulfillment reliability—all essential for higher rankings.
- Tracking sales velocity and conversion drops allows brands to refine pricing, imagery, and descriptive content to better match shopper expectations.
Using analytics to drive decisions can help brands determine whether to consolidate momentum on a strong 1P page or to publish distinct listings to capture additional search real estate.
6. Brand Control and Competitive Positioning
Marketplace levers also provide opportunities to reclaim brand control from resellers and unauthorized sellers. This includes tailoring content for Walmart‑exclusive SKUs, optimizing Walmart‑centric product pages, and filling gaps in pickup‑and‑delivery options that improve customer satisfaction and reduce dependency on third‑party sellers.
7. A Playbook for Scaling Online
One award‑winning case demonstrated how disciplined investment across these levers transformed performance:
- Walmart‑exclusive product versions;
- Marketplace‑specific content and promotions;
- Strategic advertising investments;
- Expansion into adjacent international markets.
This approach yielded 250% year‑over‑year sales growth and approximately $10 million in revenue by year two, while also improving line reviews and merchant trust.
