December 24, 2024

Selling on Walmart: Important Metrics for Walmart Sellers

Every business needs data to survive. Selling on Walmart is no different. However, you need the right information. Learn all you need to know about the metrics to improve your sales on Walmart.
Selling on Walmart: Important Metrics for Walmart Sellers
Selling on Walmart: Important Metrics for Walmart Sellers

Key takeaways: 

  • To sell products on Walmart effectively, you need to monitor and understand your Walmart seller metrics. Not only does it help you maintain the right standing with Walmart, but it also ensures you are ticking all the boxes for great customer service. 
  • Walmart’s Scorecard metrics to keep in mind are Order Defect Rate, On-Time Shipment Rate, and Valid Tracking Rate
  • To get insights on your performance, sign in to your Seller Center account, and go to Analytics > Performance. Select the tab that contains the information you are looking for. This could be the Seller Scorecard which shows you your Order Defect Rate, On-Time Shipment Rate, and customer reviews.
  • You can monitor other metrics like Buy Box metrics, Items metrics, and Key performance and conversion funnel metrics. 
  • To boost your seller metrics, and improve performance, sales, and revenue, you want to ensure your pricing remains competitive, optimize your listing, manage your inventory effectively, and provide exceptional customer service. 

Some years back, selling products online seemed incredibly futuristic. But fast forward to today, thanks to the advancement of technology, business owners can easily sell products online. 

The Walmart marketplace is a growing platform, attracting over 120 million unique visitors each month. Walmart sellers can get their products in front of a wide audience and increase sales and profit. 

But how can a seller track performance and grow on the Walmart online marketplace? Imagine having access to data that reveals what customers truly want, what products fly off your shelves faster than others, and which strategies drive sales.

To sell products on Walmart effectively and stand out from the competition, you need to monitor and understand your Walmart seller metrics.

To help you start selling on Walmart effectively, we have created this guide on how to increase online business revenue by utilizing Walmart seller metrics. 

Why do you need Walmart seller metrics? 

The Walmart online marketplace offers a wide range of products to customers. Thanks to its innovative features, the platform gives customers a world-class shopping experience. Likewise, if you are selling on Walmart, you have access to the platform's large customer base and features that help you increase sales and revenue. 

Better performance and sustainability

With Walmart seller metrics you can maintain a right standing with Walmart. Using data from your metrics, you can evaluate performance to ensure you are not selling below standard. If you are struggling with certain metrics, it may indicate that you need to improve operations, such as inventory management, order fulfillment, or customer service. Addressing these issues can lead to better performance and sustainability

Meet up with customer expectations

Not only does it help you maintain the right standing with Walmart, but it also ensures you are ticking all the boxes for great customer service. High-performing sellers on the Walmart marketplace are those who consistently deliver quality products on time and provide excellent customer service. By following Walmart's performance metrics, you can ensure you meet your customers’ expectations. This will help you attract new customers and retain repeat customers. It will also help you spot areas of your business that you need to work on to increase sales on Walmart. 

Effective Walmart advertising

With Walmart seller metrics, your advertising can become more strategic and effective. By tracking key metrics related to your sales performance and customer behavior, you can make data-driven decisions to optimize your advertising strategies. Ultimately, this can lead to higher ROI, making your advertising efforts on the Walmart Marketplace more profitable.

Walmart Scorecard metrics 

Walmart Scorecard metrics provide insights into your performance as a Walmart seller. Knowing your performance as a seller is key to maintaining good product quality, good customer service, and an all-around successful business on Walmart. Let’s look at some of Walmart’s Scorecard metrics you need to keep in mind: 

  • Order Defect Rate 
  • On-Time Shipment Rate
  • Valid Tracking Rate 

  1. Order Defect Rate  

Order defects are issues that reveal a problem or problems associated with your product or service quality. 

When selling on Walmart, you need to ensure you maintain an Order Defect Rate of 2% or lower. A 2% or lower Order Defect Rate means you are maintaining the minimum seller performance standard. Keeping the ODR below 2% is crucial for maintaining good standing on the Walmart Marketplace. Focus on providing accurate product listings, efficient order processing, and timely shipping to improve this metric.

To calculate this, divide the number of defect orders by the total number of orders during a particular period. Take note that an order that has multiple defects still counts as one defective order. 

What are some problems that count as order defects? 

  • Order cancellations

Canceling an order after Walmart receives it is considered defective. Some common reasons sellers cancel orders are pricing errors, listing errors, and out-of-stock inventory. To avoid canceling orders and disappointing customers, ensure your listing is top-notch and your prices are well-synced. Also, monitor your inventory levels and avoid overstocking or understocking.

  • Late deliveries

Walmart offers deliveries that range from Standard shipment of 2-5 business days, Expedited shipment of 1-2 business days, and Next-day shipment of 0-1 business days. Walmart calculates your Expected Delivery Date (EDD) for every item based on your shipping option and other settings. Walmart will hold you responsible for this metric, so it is important to monitor and assess the performance of your shipping providers.

  • Product returns

Product returns are common while selling on Walmart. However, you can reduce the rate of product returns by providing a well-detailed product listing, product image, and product quality. 

  • Customer complaints

When a customer contacts Walmart to complain about your product, it affects your Order Defect Rate. To avoid customer complaints, you need to ensure good customer service and product quality at all times. Ensure your products get to the Walmart ecommerce fulfillment center on time to avoid late deliveries. Also, ensure all fulfillment operations are intact for smooth running. 

  1. On-Time Shipment Rate

Once you get an order from Walmart, you are expected to include your Expected Ship Date (ESD). This date is the deadline for you to provide tracking information and confirm shipment. When you meet your Expected Ship Date, it is recorded as “Shipped on time”. Your Expected Ship Date is calculated considering the Order Cutoff Time and Fulfillment Lag Time. It is important to calculate and monitor your On-Time Shipment Rate to stay on time and deliver good customer service. Your On-Time Ship Rate should be >99% in 14 days.

Ensure you streamline your order fulfillment process, use reliable shipping carriers, and communicate shipping timelines accurately to customers to maintain a high On-Time Shipment Rate.

  1. Valid Tracking Rate 

Your Valid Tracking Rate should be >99% in 14 days. Once a customer makes an order, Walmart expects you to confirm the order and put in tracking information. This will help customers get a tracking number they can use to stay updated with the status of their order. If you fail to put your tracking information in, it can affect your overall Seller Scorecard. If you ship an order to your customer but fail to input tracking information, Walmart will interpret it as a failed order and send a refund to your customer. This means you will end up without payment or your item. 

How to monitor your performance on Walmart Seller Center

The Walmart Seller Center provides tools that allow you to monitor your seller metrics and seller performance altogether. 

To get insights on your performance, follow these few steps: 

  • Sign in to your Seller Center account, go to Analytics > Performance 
  • Select the tab that contains the information you are looking for. This could be the Seller Scorecard which shows you your Order Defect Rate, On-Time Shipment Rate, and customer reviews. It also shows your average seller rating, although Walmart does not provide a specific benchmark for this metric. You can also select the Fulfillment tab, which shows you a variety of reports and shipment-related metrics whether you are using Fulfillment by Walmart or other fulfillment options. 

Here are some other metrics you will see: Date range, Units measured, Color Key, and Use. With your scorecard metrics, you can monitor and improve performance. Look for trends or patterns in your performance metrics over time. This can help you identify areas needing improvement. 

Walmart also carries out some performance reviews and may suspend underperforming accounts. However, Walmart will not suspend your account without prior warning or enough time to improve. 

If your account has been suspended for underperformance, you can send an appeal to Walmart Partner Support.

Key performance and conversion funnel metrics 

The Key performance report will give you a view of the following metrics: Date, Authorized Orders, Canceled Units, Gross Units, Gross Merchandise Volume, and Commission Charged. 

You can also use the data provided to make weekly, monthly, and yearly comparisons to determine sales performance changes. 

On the other hand, the Conversion funnel report will give you insights into trends for various product categories. It shows you the path customers take in buying products. With this report, you can find out how many times customers viewed an item page, how many customers got to the checkout phase, and the total number of conversions. You can also filter your search for date and category. 

You can get this report by clicking on Summary Reports under Insights and Analytics in your Seller Center account. 

Buy Box metrics 

With the Buy Box report, you can monitor sellers in your category that won the Buy Box. With this information, you can view their Item Price and Shipping Price. It is recommended that your price falls at the same price or lower than the Buy Box winner. 

To get your Buy Box reports, simply click the Manage Items page and click on the Download icon to select and download the Buy Box reports. 

Items metrics

With the Item report, you can view metrics like the product’s average rating, reviews count, and inventory count. 

Walmart does not give a benchmark for ratings and reviews. However, it's best to maintain a review rating of 4 stars and above. For your product review count, aim to get 50 or more reviews for each item. 

If your inventory count falls to zero, it means you are out of stock. Being out of stock delays orders and prevents you from winning the Buy Box. It is advisable to aim for an inventory count above zero to signal when you should restock your inventory. This report also shows the item and shipping prices of the Buy Box winner. 

How to improve Walmart seller metrics for better performance 

If your Walmart seller metrics are just not picking up, you may be missing out on a few things. Here are a few tips to help you boost your seller metrics, and improve performance, sales, and revenue. 

  1. Evaluate pricing: To win the Buy Box, you need to consider lowering your prices. Using the Buy Box report or Item report, you can check competitor prices, compare them with yours, and adjust accordingly. Consider free shipping, as this can increase your chances of winning the Buy Box. 
  2. Optimize your listing: To increase your traffic to your listing, use the right keywords. Include them in your product title and product description. Also, use high-quality product images to attract buyers to your product page. Make sure that all your product listings are accurate and up-to-date. Incorrect prices or misleading information can lead to cancellations and returns affecting your seller metrics.
  3. Proper inventory management: Ensure items are always in stock, ready to ship and to be delivered to the customer on time. You can use inventory management tools like Orderhive and Sellbrite to automate your inventory management process. This will ensure your order defect rate stays less than 2%. 
  4. Improve your order processing and fulfillment: If you want to maintain a high On-Time Shipment Rate and Valid Tracking Rate, streamline your fulfillment process. Ensure you have an efficient order-handling system to process your orders accurately and quickly. You can invest in automation tools to reduce errors and delays. Work with reliable shipping carriers that offer timely deliveries and ensure that you fulfill your orders by the Expected Ship Dates (ESD) provided by Walmart.
  5. Good customer service: To attract repeat customers and get good reviews and ratings, ensure you maintain good customer service. Create a memorable experience by providing quality products and a seamless shopping experience. Respond to questions and complaints and ensure you keep your customers happy. 
  6. Efficiently handle refunds and returns: One way to improve your ODR is to effectively manage your refunds and returns. Ensure that your return policies are clear to your customers. Process the returns and refunds promptly and ensure your customers are satisfied. 
  7. Regularly evaluate your performance: Use Walmart’s performance dashboard to track your seller metrics and identify any areas that need attention. You can also invest in analytics tools to get deeper insights into your performance. 

Grow your business with Walmart seller metrics 

To grow and expand your business on Walmart, it is important to take advantage of the data available. Monitoring seller metrics will help you improve customer acquisition, customer engagement, and customer retention

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What metrics does Walmart use?

Some of Walmart’s Scorecard metrics you need to keep in mind include: 

  • Order Defect Rate (ODR): You want to maintain an ODR of 2% or lower. 
  • On-Time Shipment Rate: Your On-Time Ship Rate should be >99% in 14 days
  • Valid Tracking Rate: Your Valid Tracking Rate should be >99% in 14 days. 
  • Refund Rate: Aim for a refund rate under 6%
  • Seller Response Rate: Maintain a response rate of 95% or higher

What is Walmart's selling strategy?

Here are some of the key components of Walmart's selling strategy:

  • Everyday Low Price (EDLP): This is the foundation of Walmart’s business model. Walmart focuses on providing low prices for customers and everyday low costs for sellers. 
  • Quality assurance: Walmart gathers a community of professional sellers offering authentic products and top-notch service.
  • Digital innovations: Walmart leverages AI, Augmented Reality, and Virtual Reality technologies to improve customer experience and overall increase sales. 
  • Secure marketplace: Walmart provides a secure platform infrastructure (website, hosting, APIs) that attracts customers and offers seamless shopping experiences. Sellers can manage transactions and provide fraud protection. 
  • Seller Support: Walmart also offers tools like recommendation dashboards for sellers to improve their product listings. Sellers also get insights and recommendations to maintain low prices and fast shipping. 

What is the unique selling point of Walmart?

Walmart is one of the largest retail stores in the world known for offering quality products at everyday low prices. Walmart is also known for its cost leadership, maintaining competitive prices for sellers at everyday low costs. 

What is Walmart most known for selling?

Walmart is most known for selling a wide variety of products at affordable prices, with a particular emphasis on the following categories:

  • Groceries: Walmart is one of the largest grocery retailers in the U.S., offering fresh produce, meat, dairy, and packaged foods.
  • Household essentials: Cleaning supplies, paper products, and personal care items are sold at competitive prices. 
  • Clothing and apparel: Walmart sells budget-friendly clothing for men, women, and children, as well as footwear and accessories.
  • Electronics: TVs, smartphones, laptops, gaming consoles, and accessories are a popular choice for customers at Walmart.
  • Home goods and furniture: Small appliances, cookware, bedding, and furniture cater to household needs.

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