Walmart has unveiled a business-to-business procurement website in its latest bid to compete with Amazon.
Launched Friday (January 20), Walmart Business is Walmart’s e-commerce site and “customer experience” for small business (SMB) and non-profit customers.
Service general manager Ashley Hubka said in the company announcement:
According to the company, Walmart Business contains a “curated selection” of more than 100,000 items, with categorization and navigation designed for the organization’s shoppers.
“In talking to our customers, they have identified products that are important to their business,” says Hubka. “These areas include office supplies and furniture, food and beverages, restrooms, electronics, classrooms, and facilities needs. , simplifies replenishment.”
Walmart is also offering multi-user accounts, allowing customers to share payment information, order history and purchasing power across organizations, according to the announcement.
Amazon has a significant lead over Walmart in this space and has been running its own B2B service, Amazon Business, for the last few years.
More recently, both companies have rolled out new tools for small and medium businesses almost continuously. Earlier this month, Amazon announced that it was expanding its Buy With Prime tool, previously an invite-only service, to all merchants in the US.
That same week, Walmart announced that its Commerce Technology and GoLocal divisions are working with Salesforce to offer curbside pickup, local delivery and order fulfillment services to retailers using cloud-based software. .
As PYMNTS writes, two retail giants face similar pressures.
Meanwhile, Amazon sellers are looking to reduce their reliance on retailers, according to a recent study by PYMNTS.
In December, PYMNTS found that while 71% of sellers using e-commerce marketplaces deemed the platform essential and reported 90% satisfaction, “the impact has been dramatic. It could be,” he wrote.
For example, one study found that nearly all Fulfillment by Amazon sellers who have not yet sold on other marketplaces plan to sell on rival platforms, including Walmart Marketplace, this year. The move is driven by rising fees, which half of the sellers surveyed cite as their primary motivation for seeking new markets.
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