Walmart Teams With Shopify To Grow eCommerce Marketplace

Retail giant Walmart is collaborating with Shopify Inc., the eCommerce mega platform, to expand its third-party marketplace for a bigger share of the COVID-19 online shopping surge.

Jeff Clementz, Walmart Marketplace vice president, said the retailer will add 1,200 small and medium-sized business (SMB) sellers from Shopify to Walmart.com his year.

“For years, building an eCommerce marketplace customers trust has been a priority for our business,” he said in a statement. “That’s why we are joining forces with Shopify, an all-in-one commerce platform used by more than 1 million businesses, to open the Walmart Marketplace to their sellers.”

Shopify investors appear to like the idea. Shares of its stock rose $35.30, a nearly 5 percent gain in early morning trading Monday (June 15), according to Yahoo Finance.

While the U.S. Census Bureau reported eCommerce grew by nearly 15 percent in the first quarter, Walmart said its Marketplace’s Q1 business grew 74 percent.

“As we launch this integration with Shopify, we are focused on U.S.-based small and medium businesses whose assortment complements ours and have a track record of exceeding customers’ expectations,” Clementz said.

Founded in 2006, Shopify offers more than 75 million products. Last month, the Canadian company reported total revenues totaling $470 million in the first quarter, a 47 percent increase from the Q1 in 2019.

“Now more than ever, Shopify needs to be there for our merchants, so our focus during these challenging times is to help solve their immediate pain points,” Shopify Chief Financial Officer Amy Shapero said in a statement when the results were released in May. “We are well positioned to help our merchants, particularly given the accelerated shift to online commerce. Our strong balance sheet provides us with the flexibility to continue investing in the right merchant-first initiatives, supporting our merchants’ success now and well into the future.”

Last month, PYMNTS reported Shopify launched Shopify Balance, a business account built for small, independent businesses and entrepreneurs. 

At the time, the company said most banking products are built for large, established companies, not SMBs.

“We found that two in five merchants are currently using their personal bank accounts and cards for business, meaning they’re combining their personal and business finances, making it difficult to measure the financial health of the business,” Shopify said in a statement.