Walmart is currently asking UK sellers to sign up to Walmart Marketplace in a move which some believe could see the Big Box retailer challenge Amazon’s ecommerce dominance.
ParcelHero’s head of consumer research, David Jinks, believes that the second-largest retailer in the US could be considering launching an online marketplace in the UK – a move which Walmart itself denies.
The US retail giant is staging a global sellers summit in London on 17 June, billed as ‘an opportunity for UK based eCommerce sellers to explore how to grow their business as part of Walmart Marketplace’.
Walmart’s event is aimed at introducing UK businesses to its US marketplace of 120 million customers each month. UK business development lead Grace Xu will be speaking at the event.
Currently, around 86% of UK consumers shop on Walmart’s rival Amazon, according to figures from ParcelHero. A Walmart UK marketplace launch would offer British consumers an alternative to shopping with Amazon.
Last year, Walmart sold its subsidiary Asda to the Issa brothers, losing their foothold in the UK. However Jinks believes launching a UK marketplace would bring the US retail giant back into the fold.
“Walmart is the world’s largest omnichannel store, and may well have unfulfilled ambitions in the UK,” said Jinks.
“Access to Walmart.com would be a big win for UK shoppers with an eye for a bargain. From half-priced televisions and laptops to barbeques, Walmart items appear alongside millions of products from independent sellers using the integrated marketplace.”
“A move into the UK would make sense in many ways,” he added.
“Amazon’s UK turnover was £4.8 billion (over $6.55 billion) in 2020 and 86% of Brits shop on Amazon. Which retailer wouldn’t want a slice of this action?”
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Are they going to offer the equivalent to Amazon Prime.Walmart couldn’t hack it in the U.K with Asda.Go back to America and your own back yard.