CSV Uploading vs Product Uploading Using 3rd Party API Integration
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Sellers want to integrate their online stores with Walmart.com for the simplicity and one point on control for Walmart orders rather than moving to Walmart and then fulfilling orders .
Product Uploading can be done in WalMart Marketplace through following ways :
1. Upload products from their Seller Center using CSV files
2. Use 3rd party integrations to integrate their online stores with Walmart Seller center.
For uploading the products using CSV files, sellers have to only register with Walmart, get approved and then they can feed the required data in the files and upload the products. Whereas, for the second option – using 3rd party integrations – they are required to OBTAIN Walmart API Keys. Afterward using these keys integrate their online stores – built on Magento, Shopify, WooCommerce etc – with the Walmart.
However, Walmart’s intent is commendable – providing seller panel to upload files manually as it is free – to facilitate sellers wanting to sell at Walmart. But, the manual work involved with uploading and feeding information in the CSV files is intimidating and overwhelming, especially for those who have thousands of products.
Entering HUGE sets of data frequently can be sometimes nightmare-ish. However, the other method using WALMART MARKET PLACE API INTEGRATION to upload and sell products is the easy way out.
Let’s understand how the first one is nightmare-ish and second one a facilitator.
The first and foremost thing to sell on Walmart is uploading products. Manually, these are done is two ways:
1. Setup by Match: In this data (product information) of the existing product is used
2. Setup by Category: In this, products can be uploaded by entering the respective information for different product categories.
1. SET UP by MATCH:
What it does is Sellers are required to provide SOME INFORMATION OF THE PRODUCT and USING THIS INFORMATION the seller panel MATCHES AND FETCHES the information from the existing products on Walmart.
In the file, the seller has to manually enter all the details required, the seller panel fetches all OTHER details such as Short and Long Description etc DETAILS from the existing products on the Walmart.
NO ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CAN BE ADDED USING SETUP BY MATCH and any INVALID information entered in the file also results in FAILING to upload the product.
PAIN POINTS:
- Enter large data sets.
- Choosing TAX CODES for products individually from 4985 codes is taxing per se
- Only existing information of the products is used
- Only two product identifiers can be used – UPC and GTIN
- Find all the errors
- Rectify them individually and then upload them again
Other PAIN POINTS:
One thing that is needed to be pointed out is the Merging of Products.
Why is it a pain?
Once your product is matched, the existing product is shown on Walmart.com, even if, it the existing product is out of stock. To RESOLVE this issue the customers then has to purchase UNIQUE PRODUCT CODES so their products don’t get merged.
Addressed by Integration APP
However, the WALMART API INTEGRATION uploads all the product from the online stores to Walmart by fetching all the mapped attribute data. Also, rectification of product upload error is easy and eliminates the manual-finding-and-rectification-individually efforts.
Note: THE MAGENTO INTEGRATION APP IMAGES ARE USED FOR ILLUSTRATION. HOWEVER, SIMILAR FEATURES ARE AVAILABLE WITH OTHER FRAMEWORKS AS WELL.
The Walmart API Integration app automated the SETUP by MATCH process
2. SET UP BY CATEGORY PART
To add any new information to the products uploaded through Setup by Match Process, Setup by category is used.
For this users are required to choose the category and subcategory in which they want to add a product or information to the already-added product on Walmart.com through SET UP BY MATCH.
Again the intention of the Walmart is novel when it comes to providing the COMPREHENSIVE knowledge base to aid the sellers, however, it remains a largely complex and multi-layered method.
PAIN POINTS:
- Feeding Large Datasets as information
- Tracking their status from FEED STATUS (error notification)
- Removing all the errors and then again uploading the file
These are the pain when a product has no variants and it gets multiplied when there are variations of the product such as Size, Color, Gender etc.
Also, VARIATIONS approved by WALMART can be used only, no other variation can be used.
The pains involved in adding the variations of products:
- VARIANT ATTRIBUTE FINDING is tedious process per se
- The first Variation is chosen.
- Following it is the search for the definition of the Variation.
- From headings, deduce the HEADING/COLUMN under which the VARIANTS have to be entered.
Then, the product is finally able to be uploaded. And after it again follows the steps for finding the errors from FEED status and then rectifying them one-by-one.
Addressed by Integration APP
Whereas the Cedcommerce Walmart Marketplace extension has all the necessary information already inbuilt, products can be added by MAPPING THE CATEGORIES of the online store with that of Walmart.
PRICING:
To update pricing sellers have to open the MANAGE ITEMS, select the price of the individual PRODUCTS and then update it, there is also a feature of the SPECIAL PRICING. The special pricing is the PRICE of the PRODUCTS after a certain amount of discount is given to the customer.
Note: Here $10.98 is the special pricing.
Pain Point:
And to change the prices of products in the bulk, the excel file has to be created
Addressed by Integration APP
Whereas in the Integration app, prices can be increased or decreased by doing price manipulations:
- Increase the prices by fixed amount
- Decrease the prices by fixed amount
- Increase the prices by fixed percentage
- Decrease the prices by fixed percentage
ORDER MANAGEMENT & SHIPPING:
Walmart provides order management functionality for its users as well. From here, they can manage orders.
Pain Point:
- Handling orders separately on Walmart seller panel as well as on online shop.
- Here user again has to enter the all the information manually to ship the orders
Addressed by Integration APP
Whereas, in Integration app the order is:
- Automatically fetched
- The order is acknowledged within 15 minutes of its placement failing of which causes negative point for the sellers.
- Fetched manually for extremely urgent basis
- Also, with Shipstation and Shipwork the whole process can be automated
Fetch the orders manually as well. Or new orders are fetched every 15 minutes
REFUND
Walmart requires wants customers to handle REFUND on their own. However it provides functionality in the Seller Panel where sellers can enter the details of products for which a refund is initiated.
The Integration APP provides a section where sellers can initiate REFUND requests from their Seller panels and they are not required to visit the Seller center again.
THE API Integration APP ELIMINATES ALL THE FUSS:
Again, the intent of Walmart is unquestionable but the process remains complex. Handling this GARGANTUAN amount of data is never easy. And sellers have to HIRE data entry operators for the same. And IMAGINE if this has to be followed regularly it can be excruciatingly painful for the seller. This almost entire hassle is addressed and almost everything is automated.
HOW CEDCOMMERCE IS UNIQUE:
The Walmart Marketplace API integration per se is a great product. Furthermore, comes with it a great support which is secondary to none. Here:
- A dedicated account manager is aligned.
- The Account Manager can, at your will, upload the products of your store with NO EXTRA FEE.
- The Account Manager coaches you about the navigation and handling of the API Integration app until you get familiar with it.
Therefore to successfully selling on Walmart, that too, continuously, it is uber important to make the whole order system extremely flexible. It is that 3rd part integrations do.
Note – Read our blog on HOW TO SELL ON WALMART which clearly explains on how to sell on Walmart Marketplace