Choosing the Right Product Category on Walmart: Ultimate Guide
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Are you a Walmart Seller who’s struggling with assigning appropriate product categories and subcategories to your products? If yes, you have landed in the right place. In this blog, you will learn all about choosing the right product category for your Walmart products and why does product categorization matter for Walmart sellers.
Appropriate categorization of products on Walmart is essential for higher product visibility and convenience of customers. So, it becomes of utmost importance to select the right product category and subcategory on Walmart.
If you assign an inappropriate category to your products on Walmart, customers may not be able to find your products when they search for them. Hence, the wrong category selection can affect your Walmart sales.
So, the product listing on the Walmart marketplace is successful upto the extent that you can categorize products in an appropriate category.
Source: Walmart.com
Product categorization on Walmart
At Walmart, there are 24 categories to choose from. Remember the followings points before categorizing your products on Walmart:
- Select a proper category for your Walmart products.
- Within each category, select the best sub-category for your products.
- When the sub-category is not precise, go through the Include and Exclude columns to understand better.
- If the product can belong to several categories, research the category and attributes, and select the best category that describes your items.
- When the sub-category is not precise, or no category applies to your products, choose the OTHER category. But, the selection of OTHER as a category can affect your sales, as it will not be adequately discoverable to your Walmart customers.
Why choosing the right product category is crucial for Walmart Sellers?
Choosing the right product category plays a vital role on Walmart, as it is followed by the following benefits that it brings with it:
Improves Visibility
As per Walmart, selecting an appropriate product category for your Walmart products impacts the product’s visibility on the right shelf/place on the marketplace. By mapping your products in the appropriate category, you give them a proper place on the marketplace where your customers can easily find and buy your products. An inappropriate category mapping will make your products invisible or less visible to your potential buyers.
SERP
Walmart also states that selecting the right product category also affects your product’s visibility in the initial pages of SERP(Search Engine Result Pages), as Walmart gives preference to products that are correctly categorized. If you assign the wrong product category, the customers may not find your products on the first few result pages when they search for them. To achieve a proper place in the initial search results, you must map your product category precisely.
Filters
Proper filters can make or break a sale for your products. Customers apply filters when they want to reach a product listing directly. So, according to Walmart, if you have mapped your products in the appropriate category, customers easily find your products when they apply filters. Hence, you indirectly create a seamless shopping experience for them.
Conversion Rate
Proper product categorization can improve your conversion rate. When your product attains a proper place on Walmart, customers can easily find them. Therefore, you can get more conversions and sell more.
Imagine you are selling earrings, and you miscategorize it under jewelry instead of accessories. So, what will happen when the customers search for the earrings? It’s obvious! They will be unable to buy them because of an avoidable error.
Fun Fact: The correct categorization of products helps Walmart precisely calculate the referral fees that you have to pay to Walmart for selling your products. However, if you accidentally select the wrong category for your products at Walmart, Walmart will always charge the correct fees pre-decided for that category of products.
Source: Walmart.com
Attribute & Category Mapping: What you need to keep in mind?
Along with the product category, the mapping of product attributes also needs to be performed wisely. Always remember the importance that the product attributes play on Walmart. Attributes distinguish the same products based on some characteristics or features which that product possesses.
How do you differentiate a blue trouser of some brand X from the black trouser of the same brand X, or a 32’’ LED TV from a 50” LED TV? Well! Based on the attributes. In the first case, it’s color and size in the second case. Correctly positioning your products following their attributes is directly proportional to visibility and your online sales.
Points to remember while selecting Walmart product categories
While doing product categorization on Walmart, the following product category examples will help avoid mistakes that you may encounter:
- Garden tools come under the Garden and Patio category, not the Tools and Hardware category.
- Garden furniture comes under the Furniture category, not the Garden and Patio category.
- Baby clothing goes into the Clothing category, not the Baby category.
Source: Walmart.com
This complete categorization guide is truly going to help you in understanding Walmart product categories.
To Sum Up
Selecting the right product category helps in the visibility of the products on the right shelf at Walmart. It allows customers to buy the products they are searching for quickly. Hence, assigning the right product category and subcategory delivers a satisfying shopping experience to your customers and indirectly amplifies your Walmart sales.
To learn more about selling on Walmart, here are some more valuable resources for you: