Beginner's guide to Walmart Marketplace product listings

Listing products on Walmart Marketplace is a fantastic way to reach millions of potential customers, but success hinges on creating high-quality, fully optimized listings. This beginner's guide to listing products on Walmart will walk you through the essential steps, from meeting the core product listing requirements to applying optimization best practices that drive visibility and sales.

Whether you're new to eCommerce or looking to diversify your sales channels, we've got you covered. This article will show you how to list products on Walmart correctly from the start, helping you avoid common pitfalls and implement the best strategies for a top-tier listing.

Key takeaways

• Listing products on Walmart Marketplace requires meeting strict criteria, such as having a U.S. Business Tax ID, valid GTINs/UPCs, and a domestic fulfillment service.
• Best practices for optimizing Walmart Marketplace product listings include keyword-rich titles, writing detailed, searchable descriptions, high-quality images, and competitive pricing.
• If Walmart finds your product priced significantly higher than on a competitor’s site (like Amazon), your product listing will be automatically delisted until the price is adjusted.

What are Walmart's product listing requirements?

To successfully list products on Walmart, you must meet two sets of standards: seller eligibility and product content compliance. Walmart maintains strict quality control, making the application and listing process more selective than other marketplaces.

Seller eligibility and compliance requirements

Before you can create a single product listing, your business must be approved by Walmart. Here are the requirements:

• Registered business entity: Walmart only accepts registered businesses (LLC, Corporation, etc.), not individual sellers or sole proprietorships.
• Business identification: You must have a U.S. Business Tax ID (EIN) and a verified U.S. business address (international sellers must meet specific U.S. requirements).
• Product ID compliance: Your products must have globally recognized, unique product identifiers, like GTIN/UPC/EAN, which often requires a GS1 Company Prefix.
• Fulfillment capability: You must show that you can fulfill orders, either through self-fulfillment from a B2C U.S. warehouse or by using Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS).

Product eligibility rules and restrictions

Not every product can be sold on the platform. Your catalog must strictly adhere to the Prohibited Products Policy and other restrictions.

• Prohibited products: Counterfeit goods, certain weapons, specific restricted health products, and offensive/inappropriate content are strictly banned.
• Restricted categories: Some categories, such as jewelry, certain health and wellness items, and custom products, require pre-approval from Walmart before you can list them.
• Legal compliance: All products and listings must comply with all applicable local, state, and federal laws and regulations.
• Refurbished items: Listings for refurbished items must include the word "Refurbished" or "Restored” in the product name and description and must have a different UPC/GTIN than the new version.

Product listing requirements and content guidelines

To get your product published on Walmart, make sure your titles, descriptions, and images follow their specific content rules.

Product title requirements

• Length: Should be brief, typically under 150 characters.
• Format: Use proper capitalization (title case), and avoid all caps.
• Content: Must be clear and descriptive, including the Brand Name and Item Name.
• Prohibited: Do not include promotional claims (e.g., "Free Shipping," "Best Seller"), special characters (™, @, *), or retailer-specific information.

Description guidelines

• Word count: Typically requires a minimum of 150 words (varies by category).
• Focus: Describe the item's features, benefits, and specifications using keywords naturally.
• Key features: Must include 3 to 10 bullet points highlighting the most important attributes.

Image and media requirements

• Main image: Must be on a pure white background.
• Quality and size: Minimum resolution of 1500 x 1500 pixels for zoom functionality; maximum file size of 5 MB.
• Number: Walmart recommends a minimum of four images (one main, three secondary).
• Prohibited: No watermarks, logos, promotional text, or accessories not included with the product on the main image. Lifestyle images are generally allowed for secondary slots.

Pricing and inventory requirements

• Price: Must be competitively priced. Walmart may unpublish listings that are priced significantly higher than the same item on competing platforms.
• Inventory: You must provide an accurate, up-to-date inventory count. A high cancellation rate (often caused by selling out-of-stock items) can lead to unpublishing.
• Shipping weight: Mandatory for calculating shipping costs and for logistics.

4 best practices to optimize your Walmart product listings

Below are some Walmart product listing best practices (with examples) that you can follow to improve your item's visibility in search results, increase click-through rates, and ultimately drive higher sales.

Craft clear and compelling titles

Your title is the most important component for search relevance and attracting a buyer's click. It should be concise, keyword-rich, and follow a clear, predictable structure.

A proven structure for high-performing titles is:

• Brand Name + Item Name + Model/Style (if applicable) + Key Feature/Size + Color + Pack Count
• For example: “BlendMaster 5-Speed Stand Mixer, 5.5 Quart Stainless Steel Bowl, Red”.

It's a good rule of thumb to place your most important and specific keywords (those a customer would search for) closer to the beginning of the title. And it's important to avoid subjective or promotional phrases like "best seller," "great deal," or "hot item."

Write detailed, searchable descriptions

Use the 3 to 10 required key features to detail the product's top selling points and specifications. If you were selling a backpack, you might include the following key features:

• Durable, water-resistant 600D polyester fabric
• Padded sleeve fits laptops up to 15 inches
• Two side mesh pockets for water bottles

The long description should provide more comprehensive information about the product's use, benefits, and specifications. Use short paragraphs and, if possible, brief sub-headers within the description to make it easy for shoppers to scan.

Finally, make sure that you answer common customer questions in your product description. For example, include care instructions, warranty information, and material composition.

Use high-quality and consistent visuals

As mentioned earlier, make sure your main image strictly adheres to the white background and high-resolution (1500 x 1500 px minimum) rule. If you can, use all available image slots (Walmart recommends 7–8 images total). Besides standard product images, you could include lifestyle shots of your product in a real-life setting, graphic overlay images to highlight specific features or dimensions, and product videos.

Create competitive pricing

Walmart’s core philosophy is to offer the lowest possible prices. If Walmart finds the exact same product you are selling offered for a significantly lower price (including shipping) on a competing platform (like Amazon or eBay), your Walmart product listing may be unpublished (or "delisted").

Use pricing tools or manual checks to ensure your price on Walmart remains the most competitive or, at minimum, matches your price on other major channels.

Common mistakes to avoid when listing products on Walmart

Here are the top mistakes sellers make when listing products on Walmart Marketplace:

• Ignoring the Price Parity rule: Listing the same product higher on Walmart than on competing sites can result in your listing being unpublished.
• Inaccurate or missing GTIN/UPC/EAN: Failing to use valid, GS1-registered unique product identifiers (UPCs) for every product variant will prevent the listing from going live.
• Poor management of inventory and shipping: Listing products that are out of stock or failing to sync inventory leads to high order cancellation rates, which triggers seller performance penalties and potential account suspension.
• Incomplete or generic attributes: Leaving product specification fields (like material, power source, or dimensions) blank limits your visibility, as Walmart's search filters rely on this data to surface products.
• Neglecting key features: Not making use of the “About this item” bullet point section means missing out on a prime opportunity to clearly highlight searchable features and benefits that customers quickly scan before purchasing.

Start listing your products on Walmart today

The quality of your Walmart product listing is the engine that drives your success on the marketplace. Optimized listings ensure compliance with strict product listing requirements, allowing you to capture high search rankings, win the Buy Box, and reach millions of active Walmart Marketplace shoppers.

Try Channable's Walmart Marketplace integration

Channable's Walmart Marketplace integration allows you to maximize your product visibility:

• Automate product listings: Apply rule-based optimizations to your data and ensure your inventory is updated automatically.
• Sync order management: Retrieve all your Walmart Marketplace orders in real-time and manage them centrally through your existing eCommerce platform.
• Data-driven optimization: Use performance metrics and insights to continuously refine listings based on revenue and other key metrics.

Start a free trial today and start selling smarter on Walmart Marketplace.