Why Sell on Walmart Marketplace: The Growth Case

Why sell on Walmart Marketplace if you are still on the fence? Walmart is discounting new sellers' fees and costs by up to $75,000 through January 31, 2027, and Walmart reports a 50% average GMV growth for items that carry its "Fulfilled by Walmart" tag with delivery in two days or less.

How fast Walmart Marketplace is actually growing

Marketplace Pulse counts about 150,000 active Walmart Marketplace sellers, with more than 50,000 added in the past twelve months. The same source puts the total at about 50,000 in 2022, so the seller base has roughly tripled in about four years (Marketplace Pulse (opens in new tab)).

Sales are growing with it. Walmart reports marketplace GMV growth of more than 30% in each of the past four quarters, and external estimates put marketplace GMV at roughly $10 billion.

Growth is one answer to why sell on Walmart Marketplace now, and it cuts both ways. More sellers means more competition in a category over time, and an earlier start means building reviews and account history while the channel is still expanding. About 35% of active sellers are international, nearly all from China, so check how crowded your own category is before you assume the numbers apply to it.

What the New Seller Savings program covers

Part of the answer to why sell on Walmart Marketplace now is the savings. Walmart advertises up to $75,000 in New-Seller Savings for first-time sellers. Here is what is behind that number, from Walmart's offer details:

• Referral fees: 20% off on the first $50,000 in GMV, 30% off from $50,001 to $500,000, and 40% off above $500,000, capped at $72,000 in total discounts.
• WFS: 10% off eligible fulfillment fees, up to $2,000. At least one item must be received at a Walmart fulfillment center.
• Search advertising: a 50% rebate of up to $1,000 for verified brand owners registered in Walmart's Brand Portal, after $2,000 in eligible spend. Other new sellers get up to $250 after $500 in spend.
• Walmart Connect: up to $500 in ad credits for new advertisers, used within 28 days of the first qualifying ad spend or by January 31, 2027, whichever is sooner.

To qualify, you must be a first-time seller who starts selling after February 1, 2026 and completes all onboarding steps. You also accept the participation terms in Seller Center (sellers who joined between February 1 and April 27, 2026 do not need to) and keep meeting Seller Performance standards.

The discounts run until January 31, 2027 or until the maximum is reached. Walmart may change or end the offer at any time without notice, and the benefits apply to one seller account.

How much is realistic? Here is Izba's math, using a 15% referral rate (the rate for many categories) and Walmart's tiers. A brand with $500,000 in Walmart GMV earns about $21,750 in referral discounts: $1,500 on the first $50,000 and $20,250 on the next $450,000. Reaching the full $72,000 takes roughly $1.3 million in GMV. The offer rewards sellers who scale on Walmart, so it is worth the most to brands that plan to ship real volume.

The GMV lift from using WFS

Fulfillment is the other answer to why sell on Walmart Marketplace. Walmart says sellers see 50% GMV growth, on average, for items with the "Fulfilled by Walmart" tag and delivery promises of two days or less. Its footnote cites Walmart first-party data for June 30, 2024 to June 30, 2025 (Walmart Marketplace (opens in new tab)).

Treat that figure as directional. Walmart does not define what the 50% is measured against, so it does not tell you what your own items would do. It does show what Walmart's own data links to fast, tagged fulfillment, and Walmart's guidance is that the tags help win the Buy Box, which leads to higher conversion.

Walmart also reports that sellers using its Inventory Transfer Services see an additional GMV lift of nearly 15% on average (Walmart internal data, September 6 to November 19, 2025). One seller, BUILT, reports a 53% increase in sales when in stock on WFS. That is the seller's own figure, so read it as an example, not a benchmark.

GMV is not profit. WFS standard fees start at $3.45 for items up to one pound, with storage at $0.75 per cubic foot per month from January through September (Walmart Marketplace pricing (opens in new tab)). Whether WFS pays off is a SKU-level question, and the New Seller Savings WFS discount only covers up to $2,000. Run the numbers on your fastest-moving items first.

Who's a good fit (and who isn't, yet)

Walmart Marketplace tends to fit brands that:

• Already sell online and can show a history of marketplace or ecommerce success, which is one of Walmart's seven minimum qualifications.
• Have GS1-issued GTIN/UPC codes and a catalog that passes the Prohibited Products Policy.
• Have margins that still work after a 3% to 20% referral fee, depending on category, plus fulfillment.
• Can fulfill through WFS or a US B2C warehouse with returns capability, and can meet delivery of two days or less.
• Are new to Walmart Marketplace, since New Seller Savings is for first-time sellers.

It is worth waiting if your catalog includes categories that need pre-approval you have not cleared, if your products do not have manufacturer-issued GTINs and you have no plan for an exemption, or if no one on your team can own the account day to day. It is also worth waiting if your fulfillment cannot hit Walmart's tracking and delivery standards yet.

Not ready yet does not mean never. It means fixing the gap before you apply, because the savings clock runs to January 31, 2027, and the application has its own checks. Our guide on how to get on Walmart Marketplace covers them.

What it takes to actually capture the opportunity

The savings and the lift are available to every qualifying seller. The brands that collect them do four things well, and they match Walmart's own Seller Success Formula (opens in new tab):

1. Assortment: a complete catalog, guided by Walmart's Assortment Growth dashboard.
2. Content: strong titles, descriptions, and images, tracked through the Listing Quality dashboard.
3. Price: competitive pricing, supported by the Pricing Insights dashboard or the Repricer tool.
4. Shipping: fast, free shipping with delivery in two days or less, through WFS or Seller Fulfillment Services.

Then comes the operational floor. Walmart tracks cancellations, on-time delivery, valid tracking, returns, and negative feedback against published thresholds, and New Seller Savings requires you to keep meeting them through January 31, 2027. A missed standard can cost you the discounts, not just your rank.

In practice, that means someone owns the account, your documents and catalog are ready before you apply, and you decide SKU by SKU what goes through WFS. Izba is an approved Walmart Marketplace Solution Provider, and we work inside Seller Center alongside your team on exactly that. Our guide on how to join Walmart Marketplace walks through the seven steps in order.

Why sell on Walmart Marketplace? See if your brand is ready

If you are weighing why sell on Walmart Marketplace for your brand, the fastest way to find out is to look at your own numbers: your documents, catalog, fees, and fulfillment plan, against a savings offer that ends January 31, 2027.

See if your brand is ready and we will walk through it with you.

Izba is an approved Walmart Marketplace Solution Provider. The views and information in this post are Izba's own and have not been reviewed or endorsed by Walmart Marketplace.