What: the move is part of the world’s biggest retail strategy shift

Why is it important: Walmart aims to close the e-commerce gap with Amazon and tap into China’s vast network of manufacturers

This month, Walmart began opening up its third-party marketplace to foreign sellers, who no longer need a US address or business tax identification. The vendors will still be carefully vetted, both locally and by Walmart’s global trust and safety team. The new sellers will make up just a fraction of Walmart’s total seller population, which is mainly based in the US.

Walmart is looking to expand its marketplace, where suppliers can offer their products via the company’s website, and the services that branch off of it, like fulfilment and advertising. For retailers, marketplaces are attractive because they provide revenue from fees without the cost of storing inventory. Last year, Walmart began offering fulfilment services for its marketplace sellers, a move that Amazon made 15 years ago.

For Chinese manufacturers, US marketplaces have become a popular way to reach American customers. Nearly 40% of all Amazon marketplace sales to US shoppers come from Chinese merchants, according to researcher Marketplace Pulse, which monitors the site.

“This will get Walmart more selection, more affordable goods that already dominate Amazon best-sellers lists,” said Juozas Kaziukenas, founder and CEO of Marketplace Pulse. “To an investor, that reads as positive news.”

Walmart doesn’t disclose how many marketplace sellers it has, but Marketplace Pulse pegs it at about 80 000. Walmart carries more than 80 million unique items online.

Walmart Opens Marketplace to Non-US Vendors in Strategy Shift