Walmart, Flipkart offer Indian manufacturers access to 120 mn US consumers

The roadmap is a part of Walmart's efforts to expand its sourcing from India to $10 billion a year by 2027.

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, said it is now offering Indian manufacturers and trading companies an opportunity for international expansion as cross-border sellers on Walmart Marketplace, where they could reach a growing market of more than 120 million US consumers each month. 

Along with its Indian company Flipkart and cross-border commerce company Payoneer Walmart laid out a detailed roadmap for local sellers with export ambitions at the recent Walmart Global Seller Summit in New Delhi. The roadmap is part of Walmart efforts to expand its sourcing from India to $10 billion a year by 2027.

“Now is the ideal time for sellers from India to get started as exporters on Walmart Marketplace. It’s already one of the top online marketplaces in the U.S., and we’re investing heavily to help new sellers bring great products and service to the platform,” said Michelle Mi, Walmart Vice President, Emerging Markets and Business Development – Global Sourcing at the summit. Michelle Mi attended the summit alongside 650 invited Indian sellers. “As one of the first batch of Indian sellers on the Marketplace, those who join us now will have a great opportunity to find success in the U.S. as part of a curated community of trusted sellers,” said Michelle Mi.

Walmart’s chief rival Amazon which unveiled its Global Selling Programme in India in 2015 is expecting to generate $10 billion in cumulative export sales by 2025 for Indian exporters enrolled in this programme.

Walmart Marketplace is a well-established and growing pillar of the U.S. retail landscape offering nearly 170 million unique items to a loyal base of customers. Walmart is seeking to bring 40,000 new sellers onto the Marketplace this year and to expand the assortment on offer to over 200 million items. Walmart sees particular potential for India-made products in highly searched categories like furniture, bedding, home décor and more.

“Digitalisation and e-commerce are the gateway to amazing opportunities here in India and in markets around the world,” said Rajneesh Kumar, chief corporate affairs officer, Flipkart Group. “Over the past decade, Flipkart has helped build a strong supply chain ecosystem in India, enabling hundreds of thousands of local businesses to begin selling online as part of India’s digital retail revolution. This is not only great for local consumers and companies, but also expands the pool of export-ready Indian businesses that can now take advantage of this opportunity on Walmart Marketplace.”

At the grassroots level, Walmart and Flipkart are providing training and support to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with export ambitions via the Walmart Vriddhi supplier development program. A cross-border trade training program is now being developed under Vriddhi to help sellers prepare to begin leveraging the digital supply chain to sell overseas.

Indian sellers on Walmart Marketplace will be guided every step of the way by a new Walmart Cross Border Trade team in India. Sellers will have a dedicated account manager to help them onboard and take advantage of tools like Walmart Fulfillment Services. This lets sellers offer two-day delivery to most of the US, with Walmart handling warehousing and delivery, as well as returns. India sellers will also be able to use the Walmart Connect media platform to help run impactful advertising and marketing campaigns.

In addition, they will be able to call upon an ecosystem of solutions providers like Payoneer. As a global digital commerce enabler, it offers multi-currency payments solutions and India-focused innovations like automated Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate (FIRC), along with access to legal, tax and compliance support, global shipping and logistics services, and more.

“Walmart’s Global Seller Summit in India is a great example of Payoneer’s endeavour to connect cross-border sellers with marketplaces so that they can thrive in the global digital economy,” said Gaurav Shisodia, country manager, Payoneer. “We are delighted to help high-quality Indian sellers in our ecosystem to gain direct access to the world’s largest omni-channel retailer.”