I sell shoes on Amazon US and want to test Walmart with minimal investment. A few basic questions:
-
Brand: How important is a US trademark on Walmart? What real differences do branded sellers have vs. non-branded?
-
Price matching: I’m looking to list the same products on Walmart, but I’ve heard they crawl other platforms for pricing. How do you avoid getting flagged for having a lower price elsewhere?
-
Amazon MCF: I’ve seen totally conflicting info – some people say Walmart bans Amazon MCF, but Amazon support says it’s allowed. What’s the actual rule here?
Appreciate any real-world experience!
Answers (5)
Price matching does happen, and different main images help but aren’t 100% reliable. I’ve changed images several times and still got matched.
For price matching, you can either create a separate listing on Amazon (different ASIN) or use a standalone website as your price reference.
Walmart crawls the web for price matching.
A common workaround: use a completely different main image on Walmart than on Amazon. It often avoids the algorithm and lets you set your own price.
Having a brand helps, but hijackers can still be an issue.
And yes, Walmart absolutely does cross-platform price checks. They typically expect your price to be lower on Walmart than Amazon. One easy fix is to list slightly higher on Amazon.
I’ve used MCF once, and I think Walmart may not accept certain Amazon tracking numbers, but I’m not 100% certain.
Shoes aren’t a restricted category like beauty or electronics, so you can definitely sell without a brand.
Benefits of brand registry:
On price matching:
We keep consistent pricing across channels and manage it as a brand. It doesn’t flag every product, and you can resolve issues when they pop up.
On MCF:
Walmart allows MCF in policy, but no Amazon-branded packaging or labels – no Smile, Prime, or “Fulfilled by Amazon” anything. Amazon MCF does support unbranded packaging via third-party carriers.