Walmart's asking for better content across its top SKUs

Walmart has something new cooking post Jet acquisition. Their tremendous success over the biggest shopping weekend of the year was due, in part, to the technology and customer experience investments they’ve made over the last several years.

Success to date has made them thirsty for more, and they want to create a great customer experience across all of their properties. So, as part of the Jet acquisition, they have combined data sets and identified a large set of products that they believe will sell better with slightly improved content.

We’ve been working with Walmart for a couple of years to help bring initiatives like this to life fast, and we’re committed to helping brands meet this new requirement too (see how fast Wrigley’s content refreshes here).

This new initiative is an opportunity to improve how your products appear on Walmart.com and Jet.com. Here's what you need to know.

What's happening? Walmart is collecting improved and better content for thousands of its top SKUs that have been identified as likely to perform well on both Walmart.com and Jet.com.

Why are they doing this? Walmart is going to use this content to improve cross-site customer performance, make all products more discoverable, and drive conversion on both Jet and Walmart websites.

Who’s involved?

• You
• Walmart
• Salsify

What is Walmart asking for? The best content you have for the SKUs they’ve identified. Specifically, they want at least 4 images per SKU and all of the attributes you have available. The list from Walmart includes both 1P and 3P sellers. Walmart will use your content to make sure they have the best digital representation for each product on web and mobile shopping channels.

How will Walmart collect this content? They’re looking for content from certified partners (Salsify!). Brands can publish content directly from Salsify to Walmart’s API.

When is the Deadline? All content must be delivered to Walmart by 1/16/17. The retailer expects to have it live by 1/30/17.

FAQs

Am I impacted? And if so, how many SKUs?

• Thousands of brand manufacturers impacted, and impacted SKUs vary from 1 to hundreds.
• If you’re a customer and you have products on Walmart’s list, you have been contacted by Salsify. (Give us a call if you’d like us to double check.)
• If you’re not, and want to know if this impacts you, contact us here and we can let you know.

I don’t sell 1P, does this impact me?

• It impacts your products. Even if you don’t sell 1P, your products represent your brand, and you want to make sure the consumer has the best first impression.
• Walmart has identified these products as products they’re interested in selling as a 1P over time. Getting great content up now will help that process move even faster.

Why hasn’t Walmart sent me a note as they usually do?

• Walmart has asked us to reach out on their behalf. If there’s concern, please feel free to reach out to your buyer. Keep us in the loop and we’ll make sure you get all of the information you need

What if I can’t meet the deadline?

• Please let us know if you’re having trouble meeting the deadline. We’ve put special programs in place to make sure those that are on the list can

Why should I do this?

• Great content in market sells more products and gives the right brand impression. Walmart believes this too or they wouldn’t put the ask in.

Questions or comments? Reach out, we’re happy to help.

Read more about our partnership with with Walmart here.