Walmart Marketplace has expanded into “premium” musical instruments – both new and used – as part of its focus on broadening selection, a strategy that has helped Amazon enormously and further pits the two companies against each other. However, Walmart Marketplace’s new shop is not open to all sellers. Manish Joneja, head of Walmart U.S. Marketplace and Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS), said the shop is limited to a “curated selection of trusted sellers.”
Walmart announced the new “Premium Musical Instrument Shop” on January 20th, which features “a curated selection of guitars, amplifiers, pedals, drum accessories, strings, gig bags, and other music essentials.”
Walmart said the new digital storefront marks the first phase of its marketplace expansion into professional-grade musical instruments and accessories. “The launch reflects Walmart Marketplace’s continued focus on broadening its selection in high-quality, specialized categories while maintaining the convenience and reliability customers expect.”
In a post on LinkedIn, Joneja said the new music shop was “just the beginning.” And while Walmart Marketplace is limiting who can sell in the new shop, it is actively recruiting sellers. On the Walmart Marketplace blog, it told instrument sellers they would have access to the following benefits:
- A loyal network of millions of customers, with Walmart’s growing share in the musically-inclined Millennial and Gen-Z audience
- A new curated shopping experience for music enthusiasts, backed by strong brand protection protocols and established equity as one of the most trusted names in retail
- Retail capabilities designed to give your customers the kind of shopping experience they love: fast shipping, convenient returns and stellar customer service
- Walmart.com’s massive traffic scale and our growth momentum. Walmart Marketplace has delivered 14 consecutive quarters of double-digit growth, and last quarter, Walmart reported U.S. eCommerce sales increasing approximately 28%, led by Marketplace and store-fulfilled channels
Link to the new Walmart Marketplace Premium Musical Instrument Shop.
