With an increasing focus on third-party sellers and luxury goods, Walmart’s marketplace is becoming a key element of its growth strategy, and the numbers show it’s paying off. According to Walmart, the marketplace elevates the company’s profile as a digital shopping destination by adding higher-profile, in-demand brands that its customers are searching for but are not typically distributed at Walmart.
In December, there was much buzz surrounding Walmart’s “Wirkin,” a third-party seller knockoff of the iconic Hermès Birkin retailing for as low as $78. Made by third-party seller Kamugo from a mix of genuine cowhide and synthetic leather, the Wirkin has been going viral on TikTok and Instagram over the last few weeks.
Kristi Stephens of @styled.by.kristi was among the influencers calling attention to the Wirkin style on TikTok and Instagram. A December 19 post featuring Stephens unboxing the bag has over 8.7 million views and helped the bag sell out within hours. A search for “How do I find the Walmart Birkin” delivers 42 million posts on TikTok. While links to the original bag are no longer active, the product pages of items like a dupe of the Hermès Evelyne bag selling for $24.99 are still live.
In 2023, Walmart reported a 20% increase in third-party marketplace sellers to 150,000. Walmart.com now boasts more than 420 million products with 95% coming from the marketplace. “Walmart is seeing growing success with third-party sellers, mainly because it has put a lot of effort into attracting vendors to its site over the past couple of years,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData.
To support this growth and remain competitive, Walmart has introduced services like logistics support for sellers — for example, making it easier for them to fulfill Walmart orders using inventory from other platforms including Target, Etsy and Amazon.
“More sellers are starting to see Walmart as an alternative to Amazon, especially as Amazon has been increasing fees,” said Saunders.
Amazon has made moves into the luxury market by launching Luxury Stores in the U.S. in September 2020 and expanding them to Europe in June 2022, partnering with Rent the Runway in 2023 for luxury resale items, and investing in Saks Global in July 2024 to strengthen its presence in high-end retail.
As of 2023, Amazon’s online marketplace hosted approximately 1.9 million active sellers, according to research from credit card company Capital One Research. Third-party vendors generated $480 billion in merchandise sales, accounting for 83.5% of Amazon’s net sales for the year. Walmart, meanwhile, boasts 410 million.
Walmart’s marketplace includes premium items like Hermès bags and Rolex watches sold by resellers. In 2023, Walmart was selling the Hermès spring 2023 Rainbow Birkin on its site for $29,610.84. But as the marketplace grows, copies and dupes of these items are also showing up on the platform.
Like other marketplaces including Amazon, Walmart has struggled to control the presence of knockoffs on the platform. On Reddit earlier this year, sellers of other products from Walmart said in a thread that Walmart’s response to fakes and scams on its marketplace has been insufficient. Walmart has made efforts to improve product quality and reduce the number of fake listings by introducing a “Pro Seller” status in 2020 to distinguish trustworthy sellers.
As of 2023, Walmart raised its on-time delivery rate requirement for sellers from 90% to 95%, reduced the cancellation rate of orders by sellers to under 1.5%, and added a new rule requiring sellers to maintain a 95% response rate to customer queries to qualify for the Pro Seller badge. Marketplace orders are now expected to be delivered in under two days, with handling time under one business day and weekend delivery offered.
Walmart execs have noted that the marketplace needs to improve its sellers and listings if it is to continue competing with Amazon. “If you look at the marketplace, it’s still subscale to what it should be,” said Walmart CEO Doug McMillion in December at the Morgan Stanley Global Consumer and Retail Conference. He stressed that the marketplace “just [has] to keep getting better.”
“Our seller experience wasn’t that good,” he said. “What we think about is price, breadth of assortment, the experience they have shopping with us and trust. Those are the four dimensions of the customer value for us.”
While the “Wirkin” isn’t an exact replica of the real Birkin bag, as it features a cross-body strap and is missing the logo, it could still pose issues for Walmart if it wants to work with brands like Hermès, which don’t want dupes appearing alongside their own products.
Walmart’s Marketplace has strict rules against counterfeit products. Sellers found selling fake items can face penalties, including having their listings removed or their accounts terminated. Walmart provides a Brand Portal and IP Claim Form for rights holders to report counterfeit goods.
But the buzz surrounding the knockoff could actually prove advantageous for Walmart. “As long as the products are clearly marked as dupes and do not infringe on any copyright and intellectual protections, I don’t see this as doing much harm to Walmart,” said Saunders. “Indeed, it could be argued that this is a way for Walmart to build its credentials beyond fashion basics and everyday lines.”
