Ecommerce sellers know how lucrative it can be to launch private label products on Amazon, so why not do the same on Walmart.com? Adding private label brands and products to Walmart Marketplace can be an incredible way for entrepreneurs to diversify their income — 95% of the Walmart sellers we surveyed reported running their Walmart businesses profitably.
According to Jungle Scout’s 2022 State of the Walmart Seller report, private label is the most common sales model for Walmart sellers (51%).
The following sales models follow in popularity:
- Retail arbitrage (45%)
- Online arbitrage (33%)
- Wholesale (34%)
- Dropshipping (12%)
What are private label products?
Private label products are goods that typically exist in the market but are rebranded and sold by another company. As a private label retailer, you can put your own twist on a product by improving quality, changing dimensions, offering new colors, and adding features.
The beauty of private label is that you don’t need to invent or develop a brand new product to sell under your own brand online (though you can, if you want).
Private labeling isn’t a new concept; it’s a common practice used by some of the world’s largest retailers. If you’ve shopped at Walmart before, you’ve likely seen some of their private label products on the shelves, such as Great Value, Equate, or Sam’s Choice.
Walmart private label brands
To give you a better idea of what private label products are and to prove that even giant retailers follow this business model, let’s go over some of Walmart’s popular household brands.
Sam’s Choice
Sam’s Choice is a private label brand created in 1991 and was named after Walmart founder, Sam Walton. It positions itself as a premium food brand, featuring a variety of products such as whole bean coffees, thin-crust pizzas, Swiss chocolate, frozen seafood, breakfast meats, bread, and condiments.
Great Value
Great Value is a private label grocery brand created in 1993 by Walmart and claims to be as good in quality as national brand offerings. The brand lists hundreds of household and grocery items such as snacks, dried goods, cleaning supplies, candy, and beverages. The products are manufactured by food corporations and are simply labeled with the Great Value branding.
Equate
Equate is a formally independent brand that Walmart now owns. It produces health and personal care items such as shaving cream, toothbrushes, lotion, and over-the-counter medications.
Ol’ Roy
Ol’ Roy is a dog food brand created in 1983 and named after Sam Walton‘s dog. The brand offers high-quality dog food that is comparable to more prominent name brands and is also available on Amazon.
Pen + Gear
Walmart’s private label brand for school and office supplies, Pen + Gear currently lists over 500 items on Walmart.com. The brand sells goods such as notebooks, organizers, bubble wrap, writing instruments, paper products, magnets, and novelty items.
Parent’s Choice
Parent’s Choice is a Walmart-owned private label brand that sells baby products such as skincare, diapers, food, bottles, and bath essentials. The company provides baby products at lower prices compared to some popular brands.
Apparel Brands
Walmart also owns various apparel brands and clothing lines for men, women, and children. Examples of apparel brands are George (men’s shoes and clothing), Terra & Sky (plus size women’s apparel), Time and Tru (women’s shoes and clothing), and Athletic Works (activewear for men, women, and children).
(Source for this section: Wikipedia)
Why sell private label products on Walmart?
There is a reason why ecommerce sellers prefer to sell private label products on Walmart and Amazon. Let’s go over why private label is the most popular sales model.
You own the brand
Selling a private label product means that your company owns the brand, unlike arbitrage or wholesale, in which you buy and resell other brands’ products. Since you own the brand, you have complete control over how you market and price your products.
Higher profit margins
Private labeling products means you are purchasing directly from a manufacturer or supplier at the lowest possible cost, leaving you with a much higher profit margin. If you are reselling products through retail arbitrage or wholesale, you purchase from a retailer or brand at a marked-up price, leaving less profit.
Customize your product
Private labeling enables you to customize the product to fit your style and brand. To stand out from the competition, we recommend you differentiate your private label product — placing your logo on it isn’t enough. Take a look at reviews of competing products to see common customer complaints.
Use those comments to make your product even better than those from top selling-brands. Come up with some ideas and work with your supplier or graphic designer to improve the product.
An example of Amazon’s private label brand is Amazon Basics.
Creative control over the Walmart listing
Launching private label products on Walmart means that you are creating a brand new listing in the marketplace. This means you will have no trouble editing images, listing copy, or keywords.
Suppose you were reselling a product on an existing Walmart listing. In that case, it will be challenging to make changes to the copy or images as another seller has listed the product in Seller Center.
No competing for the Buy Box
If you are reselling other brands on Walmart through arbitrage or wholesale, you’d likely be competing for the Buy Box with other marketplace sellers. Walmart’s Buy Box works similarly to Amazon’s; it rotates between sellers. If your product offer is not in the Buy Box when a customer makes a purchase, that sale will not go to you.
When selling a private label product, you will be the only seller on the listing and won’t have to worry about competing for the Buy Box.
How to sell private label products on Walmart
Selling private label products on Walmart is an incredible opportunity for ecommerce sellers looking to follow a more omnichannel approach. Let’s go over how to get started.
Product research
Product research is arguably the most critical step in this entire process. Without proper research, you could potentially invest in a product that no one wants to buy or that is way too competitive.
That is the harsh reality of ecommerce and creating a private label product. But don’t worry; you can use a tool such as Jungle Scout to help you find high-demand, low-competition products.
While Jungle Scout is built specifically for Amazon sellers at this time, you can still use it to get a good idea of what is selling on Walmart. If a product sells well on Amazon, it is likely selling well on Walmart.
Walmart Seller Center also features a research tool called Growth Opportunities to find in-demand product ideas. Try to find products that have a minimal number of sellers. It shouldn’t be too difficult as Walmart Marketplace is not nearly as competitive as the Amazon marketplace is (for now).
If you are already an Amazon seller, you could simply list your current private label catalog on Walmart!
Find a supplier
After you find the perfect product to sell on Walmart, find a company to manufacture the product. Finding a supplier takes time but using our Supplier Database or Alibaba makes finding a reputable supplier more manageable.
We suggest contacting a few different suppliers and manufacturers to see who can offer the best quality product at a reasonable price. Before placing a large bulk order, order some samples from each supplier to evaluate the quality firsthand.
Once you agree on the terms, place your order!
Create your Walmart listing
The next step in this process is to create and optimize your Walmart product listing. Keep in mind that just because you chose an excellent product to sell does not mean customers will automatically be able to find it when searching on Walmart.com.
Take your time with keyword research to figure out exactly what consumers are searching for. Carefully craft your title, key features, and description with compelling, keyword-rich copy to improve discoverability.
If you have a Jungle Scout account, use our Listing Builder with AI Assist tool to automatically write an optimized product listing for you.
Don’t forget about product images! Your images are one the most critical aspects of your product listing. Hire a professional photographer to create high-quality images.
Choose your fulfillment method
When selling on Walmart, you have two options for fulfillment. You can fulfill orders yourself (or through a third-party fulfillment center) or have Walmart fulfill your orders through their Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) program.
Using WFS is ideal if you’re looking for a hands-free fulfillment operation. Walmart handles everything from storage, packing, fulfillment, returns, and customer service.
Launch your product
Now it is time to launch and sell your product! To help get your new Walmart product off the ground, utilize Walmart Sponsored Product ads to get in front of the right customers.
Are you ready to launch a private label product on Walmart?
We hope this Walmart Private Label guide gives you a better understanding of what private label products are and how you can launch your own product on the Walmart Marketplace.
Do you have any more questions about private label products on Walmart? Let us know down in the comments.
If you want to learn more about how you can use Jungle Scout for your keyword and product research, click the button below.
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Brian Connolly is an Amazon seller, ecommerce expert, and writer for Jungle Scout. He lives in the New Jersey Shore area with his wife and cat. When he isn’t writing advice online for aspiring and experienced Amazon sellers for Jungle Scout, he spends his free time boating, fishing, and selling boating-themed items on his Amazon business.
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