Walmart announces major update to its online marketplace – and it could mean a $500 ad credit to grow your business

WALMART has debuted new limited-time discounts to entice sellers to join the company's online third-party marketplace.

Merchants who sign up for the platform Walmart Marketplace can get a $500 credit to use on the chain's sponsored ad program.

To receive the credit, sellers need to opt in through an email, which will be sent three weeks after they sign up for the platform, according to Walmart's website.

New merchants can also get a discount of up to 25percent on their referral fees, which are commissions paid to Walmart in exchange for being allowed to use the platform.

To get the full price reduction, sellers have to do four things.

First, they can earn 10percent off if they complete Walmart's new seller survey before their products go live.

The chain is offering another 5percent off to new merchants who ship products through Walmart's fulfillment services program.

Those who try out Walmart's sponsored search program get another 5percent off, in addition to the $500 ad credit.

And finally, another 5percent is being offered to sellers who use Walmart's repricing tool.

It automatically changes the cost of products so merchants can remain competitive on the platform.

Walmart wants the platform to be “the preferred easy-to-use, low-cost, and profitable platform for sellers of all sizes,” said Manish Joneja, the chain's senior vice president of marketplace and fulfillment services in the US.

Walmart reported that it added 8,000 new sellers to the marketplace in the third quarter of 2022.

The company is likely introducing the discounts in an effort to compete with Amazon, which had more than 2million sellers on its third-party marketplace last year.

Most of those merchants are small- and medium-sized businesses.