How Does Walmart.com Impact Walmart Stores?

Jun 21, 2025 · By: Molly Bush, Walmart.com Strategic Account Manager, VENDO

INTRODUCTION

Getting your product into Walmart stores is a major achievement – but once you’re in the real challenge begins. Merchants will give you many expectations for when you first arrive in-store, including sales, in-stock levels, and shipping timelines. In recent years, Walmart.com has become a critical component of meeting these expectations. Understanding what merchants are looking for and how Walmart.com impacts your in-store performance is the key to building thriving, long-term success with Walmart.

Merchant Content Expectations

Once your product is approved for Walmart stores, you’ll begin setting it up for Walmart.com. This includes uploading images, writing product descriptions, and completing backend data. Each product category has specific content requirements, and Walmart tracks your performance through a content quality score—rated out of 100.

Most merchants expect a score of 95% or higher at launch. Content scores influence the on site algorithm, so a higher content score can mean higher search rankings online, which drives more digital sales—and those digital sales often translate to stronger in-store performance. Merchants take content quality seriously and may even hold off on line reviews or meetings until you meet their standards.

Online Pickup and Delivery

Walmart is the largest online grocer, with much of its online grocery inventory sourced from stores. Walmart offers Online Pickup and Delivery (OPD), where customers place orders online and either pick them up in-store or have them delivered to their house from a local grocery store.

Sales made through OPD are counted as stores sales in Scintilla basic, so strong online performance helps contribute towards your in-store velocity. Scintilla is Walmart's reporting platform. All brands with Retail Link access have access Scintilla basic. This includes basic sales metrics as well as inventory and supply plans. Brands can also pay additional fees to have access to Scintilla charter, which includes competitor category data as well as additional ecommerce metrics. Merchants set expectations for the percentage of your sales originating online, so in order to be successful, your items now need to do well in store and through online pickup and delivery. If your items do not do well in online pickup and delivery, you are leaving money on the table for the merchant and space can be re-evaluated. Most merchants will discuss a digital penetration goal, which is something that can be tracked throughout your time at Walmart.

Walmart Connect

Another key component of Walmart.com is Walmart Connect, the advertising arm responsible for onsite advertising, sampling programs, and some in-store display opportunities. Each merchant has a Walmart Connect counterpart who assists brands in advertising on Walmart.com. Advertising can improve digital penetration metrics and increase awareness, particularly during an item’s initial launch. While not mandatory, most brands invest in Walmart Connect, meaning that if you do not, your competitors are gaining digital market share. Investing in Walmart Connect can drive both online and in-store sales.

Expansions

Once you establish a presence in Walmart, expanding in-store distribution becomes a goal– but shelf space is limited, and merchants want proof your item will sell. Because of this, a great way to show success of an item is to offer it through Walmart.com, grow sales of the item, and then report that success back to the merchant as a way to prove your item in the market. Walmart.com offers an “endless shelf” where you can introduce more SKUs and build sales without the physical constraints of store shelves.

Many merchants prefer to carry your full catalog online while selecting the best-performing products for in-store shelves. This approach helps build brand visibility, drives overall digital sales, and often creates a halo effect that benefits your entire Walmart business.

Conclusion:

Success on Walmart.com is now essential to thriving in Walmart stores. As you grow your Walmart business, make sure to have open conversations with your buyer about their Walmart.com expectations and how you can meet them. Your online and in-store performances are interconnected—excelling in both channels will unlock the greatest opportunities for your brand at Walmart.