Walmart Launches E-commerce Site for SMBs
Need office supplies, computers, cleaning materials, or coffee for the breakroom?
Walmart’s latest shopping destination targets small and medium businesses (SMBs) and nonprofits, offering a website dedicated to purchasing supplies to support day-to-day operations.
The newly launched Walmart Business e-commerce site and customer experience aims to “remove complexity in purchasing, lower costs, and give [SMB and nonprofit] customers more opportunities to serve their customers and communities,” the retail said.
According to the retailer, Walmart has been working for months with SMBs and nonprofits to build solutions tailored to them, with tools to help teams run smoother, have the right items on hand, and easily find products. Walmart found these organizations are seeking to:
- Save money and spend less time on business purchases
- Stay in control and in stock with more time to focus on their operations and staff
- Create efficiencies to operate and grow
The new Walmart Business offers a curated assortment of more than 100,000 items, with categorization and navigation tailored to busy organizational shoppers. Product areas include office supplies and furniture, food and beverage, restroom, electronics, and classroom and facility needs. There’s a landing page dedicated to classroom supplies, in addition to office, tech, breakroom, and more.
In addition, Walmart Business offers multi-user accounts, giving organizations the ability to add up to five users to a single account. Customers can also share payment information, order history and purchasing power across teams. Qualified organizations can enroll in the Walmart Tax-Exemption Program (WTEP), allowing automatic removal of eligible taxes during checkout. Walmart Business also simplifies restocking by grouping various items together in a way that makes sense to organizations.
Organizations that upgrade to a Walmart Business+ membership, at a price of $98/year, plus tax, have access to additional benefits:
- Free shipping with no minimums
- Free pickup and delivery from store with a $35 minimum order
- Two percent rewards on orders of $250 or more
- Savings of 5% on eligible items set to subscription
“As we continue to evolve the shopping experience, we are committed to listening to SMB and nonprofit customers to help them address the challenges they face today, and the ever-changing challenges that come with running an organization,” said Ashley Hubka, SVP & General Manager of Walmart Business.
Amazon Nixes AmazonSmile
In other news, Amazon announced it's closing AmazonSmile, a program the retailer launched in 2013 that donates 0.5% of a participating customer’s purchase on Amazon to a charity they can select from a list of more than 1 million global non-profit organizations.
Amazon said in an email to AmazonSmile customers, that having so many eligible organizations meant its “ability to have an impact was often spread too thin.”
“We are writing to let you know that we plan to wind down AmazonSmile by February 20, 2023. We will continue to pursue and invest in other areas where we’ve seen we can make meaningful change—from building affordable housing to providing access to computer science education for students in underserved communities to using our logistics infrastructure and technology to assist broad communities impacted by natural disasters."
To help charities in the AmazonSmile program with this transition, Amazon said it will provide them with a one-time donation equivalent to three months of what they earned in 2022 through the program, and they will also be able to accrue additional donations until the program officially closes in February.