Walmart takes aim at smaller brands with new ad tools

In hopes of beefing up its Marketplace presence, Walmart has added a new suite of ad tools, making it easier for smaller brands to join and sell on the platform.

All aboard: New Marketplace sellers are now automatically onboarded to Walmart’s self-serve Walmart Ad Center platform, reducing a three-day enrollment process to seconds.

  • The new onboarding experience is being rolled out to existing Marketplace sellers.
  • Later this month, a new step-by-step process will be put in place to reduce the guesswork for launching and optimizing search campaigns.

Preferential treatment: Walmart’s Search Brand Amplifier puts advertised products at the top of search results, useful for brands that don’t have high organic search rankings.

  • Walmart suppliers and eligible Marketplace sellers can launch and manage their own campaigns through Walmart Ad Center.
  • Sellers can also access the Amplifier through Walmart Platform Partners.

Insider information: Walmart is sharing new resources to help sellers optimize sponsored search campaigns. The insights page features everything from case studies to holiday guides.

Global help: As Walmart Marketplace expands to countries like Canada, the UK, and India, the retailer is adding more API partners that offer globalized support.

Sound familiar? These tools are very similar to the ones Amazon has been offering for years. Everyone wants a piece of what the megaretailer has; we’ll see if it makes a difference in the race to the top.

 

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