Walmart said its Marketplace business grew more than 50% in each of its first two quarters, driven by multi-year investments in assortment, pricing, delivery speed, fulfillment and product discovery rather than any single operational change. Manish Joneja, Walmart's senior vice president and global head of Marketplace and Fulfillment Services, told a Piper Sandler discussion that the company is using its 4,500 U.S. stores as fulfillment nodes, allowing third-party Marketplace inventory to be forward-deployed to store backrooms and enabling pickup or delivery in as little as 30 minutes in some areas. Joneja said 95% of the U.S. population lives within a three-hour delivery range of a Walmart store, while 60% is within a sub-30-minute range, and that Walmart's online pickup and delivery business grew 43% in the most recent quarter. Walmart Fulfillment Services, which accounted for 50% of Marketplace sales, delivers conversion rates more than 50% higher and costs 15% lower for participating sellers, and combining WFS with advertising has in some cases produced five times gross merchandise value growth. Walmart is also extending the Marketplace model to Canada, Mexico and Chile, opening walmart.com to Canadian and Mexican shoppers seeking U.S. assortment and letting sellers reach multiple markets through a single entry point.
Walmart Inc.Walmart Marketplace grew over 50% in each of its first two quarters, with online pickup and delivery up 43%, reflecting strong end-customer demand for its marketplace and fulfillment services.
