Selling On Walmart vs Amazon: Which One Is Better In 2024?

Can’t decide whether you should start selling on Amazon or Walmart? To help you, we have compared both platforms side-by-side.

On the one hand, you have Amazon – the eCommerce giant with over 310 million active users; on the other hand, you have Walmart –  another emerging eCommerce player with a less saturated market. And choosing between these two isn’t child’s play. 

But relax! You don’t have to waste hours to find the best platform, as I’ve done the heavy lifting for you. In this guide, I’ve compared every nitty-gritty fact you need to know as an eCommerce seller. 

And, if you stick with us till the end, you can easily choose the most suitable one as per your business requirements. 

Ready to explore? Let’s roll in!

Selling on Amazon vs Walmart: A Quick Overview (2024)

Comparison Parameters Amazon Walmart 
Customer Base Vast Decent 
Seller competitionHighly competitive Less competitive 
Ease of UseSuper easy A bit hard 
Fees Costly No seller fees 
Fulfillment service Excellent Good, but has restrictions
Seller Support Excellent Good 

Now, let’s compare them one by one: 

Amazon vs Walmart: Who Has A Wider Customer Base? 

As an eCommerce seller, ensure the marketplace you are eyeing is trending among your potential customers. Either way, you are going to miss huge opportunities, leaving your money on the table. With this concern, we’ll check here which one between Amazon and Walmart has a wider customer base. 

Amazon’s Customer Base

When it comes to eCommerce, Amazon is a dominant player, with a 37.8% market share among all the leading retail eCommerce companies in the US.

Selling On Walmart vs Amazon - Customer Base

 Not only that, Amazon’s recent data stated that it has over 300 million active customers across 800 countries, making it the giant eCommerce marketplace online. In fact, over 61% of US customers begin product searches on Amazon. 

Apart from that, here are some latest Amazon customer demographics you must consider:

  • Amazon has over 220 million Prime members worldwide.
  • Over 150.6 million customers use Amazon’s mobile shopping app.
  • 85% of Amazon’s customers are aged between 18 to 32 years.
  • 85% of Amazon’s young customers buy online once a week.
  • 43% of customers click on Amazon ads.

Walmart’s Customer Base

Now, if I talk about Walmart’s customer base, it’s not far behind Amazon. If you take a deep look at eMarketer’s study, you’ll find that almost 32% of online shoppers start their product hunt on Walmart, giving it a third position after Amazon and Search engines. 

In fact, the data fetched from Statista shows over 240 million customers visit Walmart’s marketplace each week. 

Another interesting fact I’d like to forecast is that 97% of customers who shopped from Walmart in 2021 visited the marketplace again in 2022, while 1.4 % of consumers never returned – the lowest leaver percentage in the history of the marketplace’s survey. 

However, here are some extra Walmart’s customer demographics you must know:

  • Walmart serves 37 million customers every day.
  • Walmart has an enormous craze among Gen Z. 

Winner: Amazon

Now that you got an overview of their customer base and demographics, it’s time to dig deeper and evaluate who has a better customer base. 

Though you can’t ignore Walmart in this aspect, still, it can’t beat Amazon’s craze. 

Why? As you saw, almost more than half of online shoppers start their product hunt on Amazon. Thus,  there’s no doubt in the statement – every e-shopper’s first preference is Amazon

In fact, Courtney Goudswaard, a former journalist and eCommerce content strategist, says in her recent Twitter thread – 

Courtney Goudswaard
Source

Thus, Amazon is the clear winner here. 

Amazon vs Walmart: Which One Is Less Saturated For Sellers?

eCommerce business isn’t all about getting visible in front of your customers. You’ll have to stand against brands that have been in the game for years. Thus, we must check which one between Amazon and Walmart has less competition and which would be the perfect choice for newbies. 

Seller Competition On Amazon 

As of 2023, Amazon has approximately 6.3 million sellers worldwide, among which 2.4 million are active. 

Now, if you don’t know – Amazon lets everyone set up an eCommerce business within minutes, resulting in massive competition. 

But here’s the catch! 

Sure, the number of Amazon sellers is rising day by day. But at the same time, the number of online customers is also on the rise. Thus, this constant buying and selling activity leads to higher conversions for each seller. 

Seller Competition On Walmart

On the other hand, Walmart has a total of 150k sellers, making it a less competitive marketplace. 

And the result? 

Every seller approved by Walmart can sell their products with ease than on Amazon, where you need to fight consistently against your rivals. 

Winner: Walmart 

Sure, Walmart is the clear-cut winner here. Hence if you are a newbie seller, you can try your hands out on Walmart first to gather selling experience. 

Amazon vs Walmart: Where Is It Easier To Set Up A Business?

Once you know which platform has a better customer base and less competition, it’s time to check which one is easier to use and beginner-friendly. 

Amazon Ease Of Use

In the previous section, I have already given a slight hint about Amazon’s ease of use. Now, we’ll go deeper and check its user-friendliness. 

Setting up a business on Amazon is a piece of cake – and I mean it. Once you opt for its seller account, you can start product listing to sell the items. 

To create a seller account, all you need are – 

  • Business email address/ an Amazon customer account
  • An internationally chargeable credit card
  • Tax information
  • A national phone number

That’s it; you’re all set to add products to sell. But remember, while product listing, you need:

  • A product identifier like GTIN, UPC, ISBN, or EAN. You can get a UPC directly from GS1. 
  • An SKU – a product identifier to track your inventory
  • Product titles
  • Relevant keywords
  • High-quality photos
  • Product Description

Once you’re done with everything, you can market and sell your products – as easy as that! 

Walmart Ease Of Use 

Selling on Walmart isn’t as easy as selling on Amazon. You have to maintain a number of rules and undergo several verification processes to get a seller ID in this marketplace.

Walmart Ease Of Use 

Now, if you have decided to become a Walmart seller, you’ll need the following qualifications:

  • Business Tax ID(s)/ Business License number
  • Documents that verify your business details
  • Experience in eCommerce business
  • Products with GTIN/UPC number
  • A catalog of Walmart’s restricted product policy

Once you check all the boxes, you have to go through a long verification process – Business verification, Payment verification, and Shipping verification. 

But, one aspect that’s quite appreciable about Walmart is that now it allows international sellers to sell on the marketplace without any US-based business. 

Winner: Amazon 

As you saw, selling on Amazon is way too easy than selling on Walmart. You just have to complete your seller account, and that’s it! You’re ready to sell. 

Contrastingly, on Walmart, you have to complete a long procedure just to become a seller. And you can most likely get rejected if you miss any qualification or document. 

Amazon vs Walmart: What About Their Fees?

Fees and budget are the foremost deciding factor in choosing a marketplace, especially when you are a beginner or have a tight budget. But which one of Amazon and Walmart doesn’t seem heavy on sellers’ pockets? Let’s see! 

Selling Cost On Amazon

To be honest, calculating Amazon’s selling cost is trickier than Walmart’s. 

First things first, you’ve to decide whether you want to go for the Individual plan or the Professional plan. Note that if you sell more than 40 products, you must go for the Professional plan, which will cost around $39. 99/month. On the other hand, if you go for the individual one, it’d cost you no monthly fees, but you have to pay $0.99 every time you sell an item

Apart from that, Amazon charges you extra for referral fees (starting from 2%), closing fees( $1.80/item), and high-volume fees.

Now, if I talk about Amazon’s FBA service, the pricing mostly depends on three primary factors – product weight, product size, and the channels on which you’re selling products

Thus, the overall selling cost for Amazon completely depends on your business requirements. 

Selling Cost On Walmart

Walmart is quite transparent regarding its fees. Thankfully, you don’t need to pay any set-up costs, monthly fees, or any hidden fees. 

Instead, it deducts a reasonable referral fee when you complete a sale. Though it depends on the category and total sales price, it doesn’t go beyond 6%-15% on each sale

Now, if you go for Walmart’s fulfillment service, you’ve to pay extra to Walmart, depending on product unit, package dimension, and product weight. For example, if your product weight is over 20 lbs, it’ll cost you around $10. However, you can calculate the rate of WFS here by filling in your product details. 

Winner: Walmart

If you are on a tight budget, it’s better to go for Walmart – no monthly subscription fee, lesser selling cost, and minimum WFS cost. 

On the other hand, if you’ve decided to sell on Amazon, you need a decent budget to set up a business. 

Amazon vs Walmart: Who Is More Liberal Regarding Product Categories?

Not every marketplace lets you sell every kind of product. You must abide by some rules and regulations to establish yourself as a brand seller. Thus, here we’ll check who doesn’t have such tight restrictions on its product categories. 

Amazon’s Restricted Product Categories

As you know, Amazon is a customer-centric platform. Thus, to keep the shoppers on the safer side and provide them with the best CX, it limits the sellers from selling certain items.

 For example, some products are open to all sellers, while some are open to professional sellers only. Not only that, if you go for its FBA service, there also you’ve to abide by the restriction policy. 

However, here’s a list of product categories strictly restricted on Amazon:

  • Alcohol
  • Animal-related products
  • Baby products
  • Dietary supplements
  • Drugs
  • Electronics
  • Explosives
  • Fine art
  • Gambling
  • Grocery

And the list goes on and on! Also, Amazon sellers are restricted to selling branded items like Gucci, Adidas, Nike, and more. Hence I strongly recommend adhering to Amazon’s policies to keep your account safe from suspension. 

Walmart’s Restricted Product Categories 

Like Amazon, Walmart’s first priority is also the shoppers. And to ensure the best CX and safe product listing, Walmart has an extensive list of restricted products, including:

  • Alcohol
  • Artifacts and Antiquities
  • Unauthorized apps
  • Autographs
  • Baby products
  • Used cosmetics
  • Covid-19 products
  • Currency
  • Precious metals
  • Digital goods
  • And more! 

And, if you sell any items from this restricted category, Walmart will take strict action against your seller account, and worse, you might get banned from this marketplace. 

Winner: Tie! 

As you saw, each marketplace has a long list of restricted products that might limit your selling. But you must adhere to their policies to gain brand authority. 

Amazon vs Walmart: Who Offers Better Fulfillment Service?

Now that you have laid down all the basics, it’s time to compare Amazon FBA and Walmart WFS. Let’s start! 

Amazon FBA

Amazon FBA is an all-in-one solution for sellers who want to delegate the hectic task of shipping to Amazon. It’s worth noting that Amazon has million-acre fulfillment centers managed by Amazon employees and bots. 

Amazon FBA

However, here are some other advantages that come with Amazon FBA:

  • All the benefits of Amazon Prime
  • Access to the buy box
  • Discounts on Shipping rates
  • Better visibility on search results
  • Multi-channel fulfillment

For these reasons, over 68%merchants rely on Amazon FBA, and 21% combine FBA and FBM (fulfillment by merchants) to grow their business. 

Walmart WFS

Like Amazon, Walmart also has its fulfillment service – WFS. But unlike Amazon, not everyone can apply for WFS. Yes, you heard that right! 

Walmart WFS

You have to apply for the WFS program to get started with the services. Not only that, but Walmart also restricts the seller from using Amazon MCF (multi-channel-fulfillment service.)

Now, if you go for Walmart’s fulfillment services, you’ll get benefitted from –

  • Low-cost, two-day shipping in the U.S.
  • Higher search ranking
  • Buy box wins
  • Access to WFS dashboards
  • Personalized guidance to grow 
  • Excellent customer support

But, despite such great benefits, only 38% of Walmart sellers go for WFS. 

Winner: Amazon

Amazon FBA is undoubtedly the clear winner here – and for good reasons. One way it allows everyone to benefit from its fulfillment services, and on the other hand, it doesn’t have any restrictions on fulfillment like Walmart. 

Amazon vs Walmart: Who Has Better Seller Support? 

Last but certainly not least, we must check who offers better seller support and resources that’ll have your back in the way of your business growth. 

Amazon Seller Support

When it comes to seller support, Amazon is unbeatable. From the moment of registering as a seller to a registered seller, Amazon will help you in every step of your journey. 

There are mainly two ways through which Amazon will help you out – 1. Self-help guides, and 2. Direct assistance from the team. 

If you want to connect with the team, you have to contact them via Seller Central. Moreover, Amazon also provides a number of learning materials, video guides, seminars with live chats, classroom sessions, etc. 

If you still need extra support, you can also hire a professional for your account management. 

Walmart Seller Support

Like Amazon, if you want personalized support, you must contact the seller team through Seller Central. Apart from that, it offers a wide range of self-help guides for every section, like inventory, shipping, and more. 

Winner: Amazon 

Though both Amazon and Walmart have a wide range of self-help guides, Amazon takes a step further by providing one-on-one learning materials, seminars, and personalized account management services, which Walmart lacks. 

Pros & Cons Of Selling On Amazon 

Here are some major advantages and disadvantages of selling on Amazon: 

Pros of Selling On Amazon

  • Easier to set up an eCommerce business
  • Wider customer base
  • Better fulfillment service 
  • Great seller support

Cons of Selling On Amazon

  • Saturated market
  • High selling cost

Pros & Cons Of Selling On Walmart 

Here are some major advantages and disadvantages of selling at Walmart:

Pros of Selling On Walmart

  • Less saturated market 
  • No selling fees
  • Decent seller support 

Cons of Selling On Walmart

  • Lesser customer base than Amazon
  • Comparatively hard to set up a business
  • Hard to navigate

Related Read:

Final Verdict: Amazon is Better For Selling Than Walmart

Now, it’s time for the final result! 

No doubt, Amazon is way too saturated for sellers, but you can’t deny the fact that it has a lot more traffic than Walmart. And once you succeed in establishing your brand, there is no looking back. 

On the other hand, if you go for Walmart, you won’t have to face rivals, but it’d take time to get the first sale. 

Thus – 

Choose Amazon if:

  • You want to attract more customers.
  • You want to grow your business to the next level.
  • You want to establish brand authority.

Choose Walmart if – 

  • You want a less saturated market. 
  • You have a tight budget. 

Now, the result is in front of you. But whatever you choose, you need to invest heavily in marketing to make your sales pipeline healthy. 

Hope this detailed guide will help you choose the right marketplace. If you have any questions, let me know below. 

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