Effective September 20, 2023, Walmart is updating its approval requirements for the Pro Seller Badge offered to high-performing sellers on the Walmart Marketplace. This is the first time the requirements have been changed since the badge was introduced in October 2020.
The new requirements include higher on-time delivery rates and lower seller-accountable cancellation rates, as well as new requirements around delivery times and seller responsiveness.
This latest move from Walmart comes in the wake of several other big moves to compete harder with Amazon’s offerings for third-party sellers, including a massive web and mobile marketplace redesign with an overhauled search function, and Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) options for multi-box and big and bulky items.
Here’s what you need to know about earning or maintaining your Pro Seller status under the new requirements and what these changes could mean for your future e-commerce sales.
The Walmart Pro Seller Badge is the little blue “verified” check mark of the Walmart.com world.
Like the Amazon Prime badge, it’s a mark of excellence that adds an extra layer of credibility to your store and product listings, letting customers know they can rely on you to deliver on-time shipping and responsive customer service.
The badge appears alongside your seller name across the Walmart Marketplace, including on your storefront, product listing pages, in search results, and in customer carts.
To check your Walmart Pro Seller Badge status:
If you have a Pro Seller Badge, you’ll be able to see it in this section, as well as key information on your performance and what to do in order to maintain your Pro Seller status.
As of September 2023, there are over 150,000 sellers on Walmart Marketplace — more than double the number of sellers than just three years ago. At that time, only about 350 sellers had secured the Walmart Pro Seller Badge.
The Pro Seller Badge isn’t awarded to just anyone. Now that the standards to get and keep the badge are even higher, it’s important to know what’s in it for you.
According to Walmart, products with a Pro Seller Badge are “designed to be eye-catching in search results and increase visibility” for top-performing sellers. Anecdotally, having the badge can also boost your search rankings and give you higher odds at the Buy Box. Either way, customers are much more likely to see and notice your page and product listings with the badge.
The Walmart Pro Seller Badge tells every customer who sees it that your business adheres to the same high standards Walmart expects of every Pro Seller. If they need an item delivered within a certain window, they trust that it’ll arrive on time. If an issue arises, they know they can count on reliable customer service.
Having the badge means increased discoverability, visibility, and confidence in your brand. As a result, sellers who have the badge should see higher conversion rates across the board. At least one merchant reported a 200% MoM sales lift after achieving badge status.
As the Pro Seller program matures, Walmart seems likely to offer new perks and incentives to help sellers achieve and maintain badge status.
At the end of the day, there’s still no beating Amazon’s Prime’s conversions. Amazon Prime members are notorious for having an unbelievably high conversion rate, whereas the average Amazon shopper has a conversion rate closer to 11.1%, according to similarweb.
In comparison, Walmart’s conversion rate hovers around 6.5%. When customers head to Amazon, it’s usually because they’ve already decided to make a purchase. As a newer marketplace, Walmart.com still has some work to do to become the place shoppers default to when they’re intent on getting what they need, when they need it.
To earn or maintain a Walmart Pro Seller Badge under the new requirements, sellers need to meet the following eligibility criteria:
Sellers need to meet and maintain all of the above conditions in order to keep the badge, and can monitor their performance in the Listing Quality Dashboard.
Compared to the initial eligibility criteria, the most notable changes are the increases in required on-time delivery and decreases in permissible cancellations, as well as the new response rate category.
However, the standards are still less stringent than the requirements for Amazon Seller-Fulfilled Prime, so if you’re already fulfilling your own Amazon Prime orders in-house or with a trusted 3PL, Walmart Pro Seller status should be well within your reach.
Unlike marketplaces with long, convoluted criteria for earning higher status levels, Walmart is pretty transparent and consistent with its rules.
To become a Pro Seller, you just need to meet the listed requirements. But that still takes a good amount of strategizing.
Here’s how to get started:
Walmart’s listing quality scores are based on three main factors: your content, your offer, and your performance. Walmart maps these out for you in its handy optimization triangle.
The most relevant corners of the triangle for earning and maintaining your Pro Seller Badge are Offer and Performance.
To keep these on track, ask yourself the following questions:
Offer:
Performance:
While there’s less emphasis on Content in the Pro Seller requirements, it’s still important to stay on top of your product listings, including:
Manage all three corners of the triangle effectively, and you’re on your way to Pro Seller status.
To make sure you’re hitting all the metrics on the new Pro Seller Badge requirement list, check your Listing Quality Dashboard regularly.
Located in Seller Center under Analytics > Growth Opportunities, this dashboard lets you see your overall listing quality score, current Pro Seller Badge status, and any criteria you need to meet in order to obtain, maintain, or avoid losing Pro Seller status.
At any given time, the Pro Seller Badge section of your Listing Quality Dashboard will display one of five possible status options:
Within the Listing Quality Dashboard, you can see detailed analytics. Walmart also maintains a list of internal tools and tips for meeting each individual metric, which is especially important to take note of if you’re not using Walmart’s Fulfillment Services (WFS).
Walmart Fulfillment Services is a good choice for certain Walmart marketplace sellers. It’s a simple option that takes care of returns and customer service, and it’s less competitive and more transparent than Amazon.
On the other hand, some sellers using WFS complain of issues like late deliveries and lost inventory, and Walmart limits you to using its preferred shipping carriers, among other restrictions — which could be bad news in the event of labor strikes or other supply chain snags.
Contracting with the right 3PL can help you achieve optimal delivery times and consistent on-time orders, and give you tons of flexibility when it comes to diversifying your shipping options to prevent supply chain setbacks. You may also be able to spend less with a 3PL than you would on WFS or handling orders in-house.
To find a 3PL that can help you win the coveted Pro Seller Status, consider four core criteria:
As the logistics industry evolves, there are countless new options popping up every day, but these FBA (and WFS) alternatives are a good place to start your 3PL search.
To meet the new Pro Seller requirements for consistent on-time delivery and low seller-accountable cancellations, you need to keep your inventory and supply chain flowing smoothly.
For the best shot at the Walmart Pro Seller Badge:
To earn the customer trust and visibility that comes from Pro Seller status, steer clear of stockouts and move inventory as efficiently as possible. The best way to do this is with an inventory platform that uses AI and advanced algorithms to keep your inventory levels exactly where they need to be.
Meeting Walmart’s new Pro Seller standards can feel like an uphill climb, especially if you don’t already have the systems in place to meet the new requirements. But for the increased recognition (and sales) that come with the badge, you can bet it’ll be worth it.
SellersFi can help you get the capital you need to stay discoverable on Walmart as the marketplace expands. With flexible, usage restriction-free funding, you can invest in whichever tools will give you the best shot at the badge.
Explore our full suite of financial solutions to learn more about how we can help you reach the next level.
