Walmart has partnered with Shopify to launch an integration that will allow Shopify merchants to list their products on Walmart Marketplace, providing small to medium-sized brands the visibility of Walmart Marketplace’s 120 million monthly visitors.

Fueled by pandemic shopping, Walmart’s same-store sales jumped by 10% while e-commerce sales grew by 74%, and growth in Marketplace outpaced the overall business even as first-party sales were strong in the first quarter. Walmart’s third-party marketplace site currently offers more than 75 million products and the retailer is set on expanding its $21.5 billion US. e-commerce business.

“We’re excited to be able offer customers an expanded assortment while also giving small businesses access to the surging traffic on Walmart.com,” said Jeff Clementz, Vice President, Walmart Marketplace, in an announcement. “Shopify powers a dynamic portfolio of third-party sellers who are interested in growing their business through new, trusted channels. This integration will allow approved Shopify sellers to seamlessly list their items on Walmart.com, which gives Walmart customers access to a broader assortment,” he added.

According to eMarketer, Walmart holds the number-two position of companies by retail e-commerce sales share with 5.3% of the market share, which pales in comparison to Amazon’s 38.7%. Growing its Marketplace is a strategic priority for Walmart, and this partnership is a shot across the bow at Amazon. Access to the 1 million businesses on the Shopify platform provides Walmart with the necessary fuel to grow a marketplace—brands and products.

Walmart will start integrating new sellers now and expect to add 1,200 Shopify sellers this year. Shopify sellers are being invited to install the Walmart Marketplace app from Shopify’s App Store and determine their eligibility. If approved, the sellers can then add an unlimited number of products to Walmart Marketplace, while making changes to product images and inventory within Shopify. Those changes will immediately and automatically be reflected on Walmart’s site.

“Our expertise in multichannel commerce, combined with Walmart’s reach, will allow us to create better online shopping experiences for merchants and consumers alike,” Satish Kanwar, Shopify’s Vice President of Product, wrote in a blog.

What The Experts Are Saying:

This partnership is good for both Walmart and Shopify, according to Rick Watson, founder and CEO of RMW Commerce Consulting. “But it’s easy to overthink this. I don’t think it will end up being particularly unique because I think Shopify wants to integrate with everyone,” he told Retail Dive in an interview, noting that about a month ago that Facebook and Shopify similarly announced a new tie-in. “It’s not like Shopify is locked up by Walmart.”

Walmart hasn’t scaled its marketplace as fast as Amazon, he also said. “To me it shows that Walmart’s decision-making is improving,” Watson said. “They need more selection and better selection.”

“Twelve hundred sellers is a big number, and what’s understated is I think Walmart might be trying to put some distance between itself and Target,” he said. “Target has been growing, its marketplace is extremely curated and Target is also on a tear right now.”

“Target is so careful about its marketplace because differentiating its assortment is key to its strategy, which is not true of Walmart,” according to Keith Anderson, Profitero Senior Vice President of Product Strategy and Insights. “And how big that number really is depends on how much Walmart’s online assortment expands as a result.”

“Twelve hundred Shopify sellers could mean a lot of things, and when I hear ‘small to medium,’ I think maybe not so many items,” Anderson told Retail Dive in an interview. “Does this give Walmart a big increase in unique selection? They don’t say it does, and they don’t say it’s going to lower the prices, or that they’re using Shopify to improve the experience on their site. Is there a path to open this up so that there really is a viable alternative to Amazon? There’s little that shows that this positions Walmart as being substantively more competitive.”

“Competition in this important segment of online retail is heating up, with Amazon remaining the unquestioned leader,” Charlie O’Shea, Moody’s Vice President, said to WWD. “However, the ability of Walmart to offer space in stores, as well as placement on its web site for select retailers as it has with Advance [Auto], is a key competitive advantage that certainly has the potential to attract additional relationships.”

“The affiliation with Shopify is a further indication that Walmart will continue to focus heavily on expanding its third-party relationships, building on the success thus far of its tie-up with Advance Auto,” O’Shea continued.