Walmart’s online marketplace sees a surge in Chinese sellers in recent months

After Walmart officially announced the opening of its e-commerce platform to Chinese sellers in March 2021, the number of Chinese sellers has surged, especially in recent months.

At the end of 2021, Chinese sellers accounted for an estimated 1 in 7 of those joining its marketplace. Of the 1,000 new sellers that Walmart recently added, 51% were from China, and only 46% were from the U.S., according to a May 11 report by Marketplace Pulse.

Walmart Marketplace has added approximately 150,000 vendors since its inception. While Chinese sellers are currently growing rapidly, they are still one-tenth the number of U.S. sellers, said Marketplace Pulse.

As Chinese cross-border sellers seek to reduce their reliance on Amazon, Walmart, being the second-largest e-commerce platform in the US, has emerged as an alternative plan. 

Last April, Amazon began kicking tens of thousands of Chinese merchants off its platform, accusing them of faking customer reviews. According to the Shenzhen Cross-Border E-Commerce Association, In 2021, Amazon terminated more than 50,000 China-based retail accounts for rule violations.

Not only are the purged sellers looking for new ways to reach bargain-hunting American consumers, eligible ones are also looking to diversify their sales channels for fear of being wronged by the rules.

Therefore, opening a store on Walmart’s e-commerce division, which has the closest thing to Amazon’s logistical support and internet traffic, is a no-brainer option for many Chinese sellers.

In early 2021, Walmart was already promoting Walmart Fulfillment Services, or WFS, a program similar to Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), offering warehousing, delivery, and after-sales support to Chinese brands.

The US retail giant also formed an alliance with China’s second-most-popular online shopping platform JD.com to open a store on Walmart Marketplace and select qualified suppliers for that store.

According to Statista, Amazon holds 41% of the U.S. e-commerce market, while Walmart controls 6.6%.

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