Walmart has recently updated the eligibility criteria for its Pro Seller program, introducing new metrics and enhanced benefits for sellers on its marketplace. These updates, effective from September 26, 2024, are designed to boost sellers’ performance, build customer trust and increase visibility. The most significant change includes introducing a tiered system that categorizes sellers into three levels: Rising Seller, Advanced Seller, and Pro Seller. This is a significant shift from the previous system, where only a single “Pro Seller” status existed.
The new structure is designed to recognize sellers at various stages of their growth. Each tier comes with specific benefits and performance metrics, such as on-time delivery, cancellation rates, and price competitiveness, which sellers must meet to advance through the levels.
Key Updates to Eligibility Criteria
Walmart’s Pro Seller program now features a tiered system with three levels: Rising Seller, Advanced Seller, and Pro Seller. The criteria for each level include:
- On-Time Delivery Rate: Sellers must maintain an on-time delivery rate of at least 90% for the Rising Seller level, increasing to 95% for Pro Seller status. This metric ensures that sellers provide a reliable shopping experience, which is crucial for customer satisfaction.
- Cancellation Rate: To be eligible, sellers must keep their cancellation rate below 2.5% for Rising Sellers, with a stricter requirement of 1.5% for Pro Sellers. This reduction in cancellations demonstrates a commitment to fulfilling customer orders consistently.
- Seller Responsiveness Rate: Communication with customers is vital. Sellers need to respond to customer inquiries within a certain timeframe, with a responsiveness rate of at least 90% for Rising Sellers and 95% for Pro Sellers.
- Delivery Score (New): This metric measures the promised delivery date accuracy, with Pro Sellers required to achieve a 50% score or higher and Rising Sellers only at 5%.
- Content Score (New): A minimum content score of 65% is required for Rising Sellers, with Pro Sellers needing to reach 75%. This metric ensures that product listings are informative and meet Walmart’s quality standards.
- Price Competitiveness Score (New): Sellers must maintain a price competitiveness score of at least 60% across all tiers, ensuring that they offer competitive pricing to attract customers.
In addition to meeting the tier-specific metrics, Walmart requires sellers to have completed over 100 orders, be active on the platform within the last 90 days, and comply with all marketplace policies to be eligible for the Pro Seller program benefits. These baseline criteria ensure that sellers maintain a consistent presence and adhere to Walmart’s standards while enjoying the advantages of the program listed below.
For a detailed breakdown of the previous metrics, you can refer to our earlier article here.
Benefits of the Pro Seller Program
Sellers who meet these criteria can enjoy several benefits:
- Pro Seller Badge: Available only for Pro Sellers. This badge enhances the credibility of listings, helping them stand out among competitors.
- Referral-Fee Discounts: Eligible Pro and Advanced Sellers can receive up to a 10% discount on referral fees for Pro Listings that meet fast & free shipping and competitive price requirements.
- Capital Terms: Pro and Advanced Sellers can benefit from quicker access to funds and more attractive Walmart Capital terms, which can aid in scaling their businesses.
- Review Accelerator credit: This is another option for Pro and Advanced sellers to receive credit for the reviews accelerator, which can further increase listing quality and customer acquisition.
- Ship with Walmart discount and Faster Payouts: All three tiers can benefit from quicker access to funds and discounts on ship with Walmart service.
These updates reflect Walmart’s commitment to maintaining a high standard of seller performance on its marketplace, offering tangible rewards for those who can meet them.
Conclusion
By meeting Walmart’s new Pro Seller criteria, sellers can significantly enhance their visibility, credibility, and overall success on the platform. These updates provide clear benchmarks for performance, encouraging sellers to consistently improve their service and product offerings.
It’s worth noting that using Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) can significantly improve your chances of meeting the updated Pro Seller eligibility criteria, as many metrics are tied to shipping performance. By leveraging WFS, sellers benefit from Walmart’s reliable fulfillment and delivery infrastructure, helping them maintain high on-time delivery rates and low cancellation rates, which are crucial for advancing through the seller tiers.
For more information on Walmart’s Pro Seller program, you can visit the official Pro Seller Program page.
