Shopify (SHOP 1.03%) and Walmart (WMT -0.32%) announced a new partnership on Monday that could significantly expand the reach for some sellers using the Canadian e-commerce company's services. As per the press release published by Walmart, the integrated service offering will open up the retail giant's online platform to approved Shopify-powered stores.
Walmart is selecting which Shopify stores will be added to Walmart Marketplace, and it's prioritizing sellers with strong track records of customer satisfaction and product offerings that complement its own. The retailer expects to bring roughly 1,200 Shopify stores on board its third-party marketplace platform by the end of the year, allowing these sellers to list their wares directly on Walmart.com.
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What does it mean for Shopify and Walmart?
1,200 new sellers joining Walmart's platform might not seem like a big deal when considering that Shopify powers more than a million businesses, but there's a good chance that additional Shopify stores will be added to Marketplace next year and beyond. Online stores that join the platform will have the opportunity to tap into Walmart's trusted name and large customer base, which should open doors to accelerated sales growth.
After Amazon, Walmart has the second-largest unified platform for third-party sellers in the U.S.. The brick-and-mortar retail leader noted that its third-party online-retail sales are seeing strong growth when detailing its new partnership with Shopify, and both companies' e-commerce offerings look poised to benefit as consumer spending increasingly migrates to digital channels. Shopify has emerged as the preferred e-commerce services provider among small and medium-sized businesses, and this new partnership could help attract new sellers to the platform and be a big boon for those approved for inclusion on Walmart Marketplace.
