Walmart is one of the biggest retailers in the world, with an online reputation that puts it second behind Amazon as the largest eCommerce retailer in the U.S. market. But no marketplace with such a high reputation can be cultivated without having high standards for its sellers.
Walmart Marketplace is a picky platform for sellers. New sellers must send in an application and undergo a “trust and safety” review.
This sense of exclusivity also informs how strictly Walmart regards violations on its platform.
The team is quick to identify several different types of violations. If problems persist, a number of unwanted consequences can happen: Walmart may pull the listing, suspend your account, withhold money, or even terminate your Walmart account for good.
Reason #1: Not Performing Up to Standards
At a minimum, you are responsible for meeting Walmart’s Performance Standards. The exception is if you’re using WFS, in which case Walmart will assume responsibility for any shipping-related issues. For most marketplace sellers, the most important standards to keep in mind are:
- Cancellation Rate
The cancellation rate is the number of orders that were placed on Walmart Marketplace but then canceled by the seller. It must be less than 2% in a 14-day period.
- Return Rate
The return rate determines the percentage of orders the customers return because of reasons the seller is responsible for, such as the wrong item, a damaged item, and more. The return rate needs to be less than 6% in the last 90 days.
- On-Time Delivery Rate
The On-Time Delivery Rate is the percentage of orders delivered on or before the expected delivery date. It should be greater than 95% in 14 days.
- Valid Tracking Rate
You must provide valid tracking information and delivery scan on or before the Estimated Delivery Days (EDD).
Reason #2: Non-Compliance with Marketplace Retailer Agreement
During the process of setting up a Walmart Seller Account, all sellers are asked to agree to follow the Standard Terms and Conditions after the account has been created.
The Agreement emphasizes the Terms and Conditions, Policies, and Guidelines, known as Retailer Policies, that sellers must follow while selling under the Walmart Marketplace Program. It is advisable for Walmart Marketplace Sellers to read the contract carefully.
And if you discover a clause that your company may later fail to follow, consider incorporating it into your business practices. Or don’t agree to the contract in the first place.
There is no escape from this condition, and failing to comply with the terms of the contract will get your Walmart Account Suspended.
Reason #3: Trust and Safety Standards Violation
Walmart’s Trust and Safety Standards are intended to protect consumers from unsafe or offensive material.
Aside from providing a complete list of prohibited products, Walmart provides a Trust and Safety Dashboard within the Seller Center that tracks three types of safety violations:
Regulatory compliance – Violations of this include products considered risky and food safety regulations.
Examples include foods that contain drug claims, gambling or surveillance products, and baby products that lack official licenses or registration.
Offensive product – This includes listings or items considered offensive by encouraging discrimination, glorifying violence, or containing profanity and/or nudity (among other explicit content).
Intellectual property – This covers products that do not cite the creator or intellectual property owner, signaling that you don’t have permission or the right to distribute the product.
Reason #4 Extreme Price Violation
Price Parity: Be aware that if the products sold through Walmart are also offered for purchase on other sites, whether by you or a different seller, your prices on Walmart may not be higher than those on those other sites. If this happens, the product will be removed from the sale, or more seriously, your Walmart Seller account will be removed from the site.
Price Leadership: Your items must not be available for purchase at a drastically lower price (including the cost of shipping) by any other seller on Walmart.com or a competing site.
Despite your best efforts, you might worry that a Walmart Marketplace suspension is on the horizon.
Before Walmart suspends an account, they usually give at least one warning and a reason. The Walmart Partner Performance Review team will also let you know if your ODR or other performance metrics are off-target.
Walmart will only threaten suspension for sellers who have been on Walmart Marketplace for three months in a row as a show of good faith to new accounts. They tend to give sellers 30 days to improve their ODR after issuing a warning before declaring any violations.
Takeaways Tips To Avoid Walmart Account Suspension or Termination
- Sellers must comply with all Walmart Performance and Operational Standards. They should follow the rules and guidelines laid down by Walmart Retailer Agreement.
- Sellers should supply the details about their correct working hours so that customers can contact them only during that time and have a higher chance of successfully communicating with sellers.
- Sellers should ensure top-class Customer Service all the time. They must provide an in-time response to all emails and questions and issue refunds within 48 hours. They should resolve issues as fast as possible and always maintain a polite tone while interacting with them.
- All sellers should ensure that they meet ESD and EDD for every order to garner optimum customer satisfaction and avoid Walmart account suspension.
- Update item descriptions from time to time, keep them accurate, and promise only what the product is instead of exaggerating it.
- Sellers should continuously monitor their scorecards and keep taking measures to keep up the best performance.
