Walmart Wants Indian Sellers To Sell In Canada & US Through Its Marketplace

Flipkart-parent Walmart is leveraging its Marketplace feature to enable Indian manufacturers and D2C brands to sell in the US and Canada, the company said.

The US-based supermarket giant held a ‘Global Seller Summit’ in Delhi with the intent to hold discussions to bring the US and Canadian markets into the garb of Indian sellers. Over 500 brands were part of the event and some participants included D2C coffee brand Rage Coffee, ecommerce roll-up startup Mensa Brands and D2C lifestyle brand Welspun, among others.

Walmart had piloted the US Marketplace program earlier this year. The idea was to bring together sellers across the world to sell on Walmart in the US. The program was later expanded to Canada Marketplace. 

During the conference, Walmart Marketplace VP Michelle Mi stated, “We are deepening our connections to Indian sellers and investing in tools and services to support them to do business overseas. We are focused on building long-term relationships with even more Indian companies.”

She further added that it expects to have $10 Bn worth of exports from India into Canada and the US by 2027.

In the aforementioned event, Walmart announced a dedicated India-based team to help Indian D2C brands and other manufacturers onboard the supermarket’s web portal and use its marketplace tools such as Walmart Connect (targeted promotional service) and Walmart Fulfilment Services (logistics services) to sell in the US and Canada.

“Walmart’s strategy is to build long-term relationships with great sellers from the US and other key markets such as India. We continue to support sellers of all sizes to help them innovate and provide the best value to their customers on Walmart.com through a focus on value, assortment and quality,” the company said in a press statement.

The move comes ahead of the holiday season, fast approaching in the US and Canada. Naturally, as buyers in these countries build their shopping lists, Walmart has outlined that lifestyle, apparel and beauty and personal care are some of the opportune segments for Indian sellers.

Cross-Border Ecommerce Opportunity Up For Grab?

According to an Inc42 report, India’s addressable ecommerce opportunity is projected to reach $400 Bn by 2030. 

What is notable is overall India’s export to the US was worth over $70 Bn in 2021, but almost all of it was into physical stores. 

India’s export ecommerce opportunity is fragmented and very few D2C and ecommerce companies sell their products in countries such as the US, the UAE and some Southeast Asian countries. Previously, Amazon Global Selling has also tried its hand at the cross border ecommerce segment.

Yet, the cross border ecommerce opportunity as a whole is still plagued with several issues including regulations, payments and remittance, channel strategies, tech interventions and more. Thus, it remains to be seen how successful the pilot of Walmart Marketplace will be, considering issues such as high prices, delayed deliveries and low trust factor in quality.