Is it possible to get items from Walmart.com with free shipping? We’ll answer that question shortly. While it is one of the largest retailers in the world, it also happens to be the number one arch nemesis to Amazon.
If you are shopping for something online, chances are Amazon would be your first go-to option. However, Walmart might be a more suitable option for a multitude of reasons (such as same-day in store pickup). In its battle with Amazon, Walmart does hold some advantages that Amazon does not possess.
That said, IO Scout will discuss how you can possibly get free shipping from Walmart.com (including free 2-day shipping). We’ll also talk about how it stacks up against Amazon Prime. Let’s cut to the chase and dig in:
What is Walmart Free Shipping?
Walmart offers its free shipping if a purchase reaches above $35 depending on the items purchased. Keep in mind that not all items sold on Walmart’s website will qualify for it. If the item is below the $35 threshold, you’ll need to pay an extra $5.99 since it covers flat rate shipping.
The most popular choice for free shipping is the two-day shipping option. There is a same-day shipping option as well. As mentioned before, not all the items sold will be eligible for it.
You’ll know whether or not an item qualifies for free shipping when you see the product page. You’ll see a label that says “2-day shipping” or “next-day eligible”. Walmart’s free shipping came about after they discontinued their former Shipping Pass a few years ago.
What is Walmart’s Free Shipping Code?
There really isn’t a dedicated free shipping code for Walmart’s website. However, there may be a chance where you can get one if you subscribed for deals that can be sent directly to your email. This may happen at some point during the holiday shopping season (after all, Walmart does waive the shipping charges during that time anyway).
What is Walmart Free 2-Day Shipping?
Any product sold on Walmart’s website that has the 2-day shipping tag will be shipped out to the customer in two business days. The shipping charges will be waived if the order is $35 or above on eligible products. This is a convenient option for customers since it will allow them the ability to receive the product quickly as opposed to other time lengths for shipping (i.e -- One week).
Why is Walmart’s Free 2-Day Shipping Feature Important?
What makes this feature great is that customers can get their order in 48 hours without any additional charges. While it can be a major win for customers, it’s even a win for those who sell products using Walmart’s eCommerce platform in so many ways. Let’s take a look at how it’s important to the sellers:
Increased Visibility
One of the major pillars of succeeding at eCommerce is making sure that your item is more visible than your competitors. Since 2-Day shipping was offered, many sellers noticed that their list rankings were boosted. It gave themselves more of an edge over their competitors due to increased visibility (especially when customers use the 2-day shipping filter).
With increased visibility, it will also make their product stand out even more assuming that the customer uses filters to whittle down their final options. Plus, with the desire of having the item in their hands quicker than usual, that also puts them in the position of selling the product much easier than competitors. If you and a competitor sell the same product and yours gets chosen over the other, it could be that yours offered 2-day shipping.
For example, if you were looking up an item and it had over 1,000 of them listed you can choose specific filters to whittle down your options. With two-day shipping, you’ll see the number of items get reduced considerably (mostly by half depending on the product). Is your bound to be one of them?
Increased Chance At Winning The Buy Box
Like Amazon, Walmart sellers can take advantage of winning the buy box. The customer will see the big “Add To Cart” button off to the side and they don’t have to go too far to find it. Winning the buy box might be hard to do when you have competitors who are selling the same product (or even similar products). If you offer free 2-day shipping, this places you at a far greater advantage aside from other factors that go into winning the buy box. The more you are able to win the buy box, the better your sales.
More Traffic To Your Product Page
Free 2-day shipping or the like will obviously attract more eyes to your product page. If you are selling multiples of the same product, you’ll start generating more sales. Just because you have a large amount of traffic doesn’t mean everyone will buy the product.
But more traffic will increase the likelihood of sales. Once again, this can be due to customers using specific filters that will considerably reduce the number of items listed. With your item still on the list, it will give you more traffic to your page compared to others that have been eliminated from the filter.
How to get Approved for Walmart’s Free 2-Day Shipping Program
As an eCommerce seller using the Walmart platform, you can apply for Free 2-Day shipping. However, it follows a strict criteria in terms of approval. One of the disadvantages of being a seller using Walmart’s eCommerce platform is that you need to fulfill the item yourself (compared to selling on Amazon).
You must meet the following criteria below in order to be considered and approved for Free 2-Day Shipping:
- You must have been on the site as a seller for 90 days or more
- You must have fulfilled 100 orders 30 days prior to your application
- Your return-policy must be customer-centric
That may not sound like much on paper, but it is quite strict. If you meet the three requirements, you will likely get approved. Otherwise, you might be rejected for obvious reasons (lack of order fulfillment, just getting started, etc.).
After you’ve been approved, it’s important to keep your stats at a certain level. These are the metrics you must have consistently in order to keep your status:
- 95% or better for on-time shipping
- 95% or better for on-time delivery
- < 1.5% cancellation rate on orders
- 95% or better for valid tracking
After you have applied, you can expect to be notified of your status in 48 hours. Once approved, it is your responsibility to make sure that the stats listed above have been maintained. Failure to do so will cause you to lose your Free 2-Day shipping status.
Walmart Free Shipping vs Amazon Prime
Walmart and Amazon Prime seem to offer what could be a similar feature. But there are stark differences between the two. One commonality they share is that they offer Free 2-Day shipping on eligible orders.
With that said, let’s take a look at how they stack up against each other:
Membership fees: Walmart takes the easy win here for buyers. There are no membership fees when you want something that can be shipped to you in 2 days or less. Amazon Prime does have a membership fee of $12.99 a month or $119 annually.
Minimum requirements: As mentioned before, Walmart offers free shipping if the total is $35 or more. Amazon Prime offers it if the purchases add up to $25.
Next Day Shipping: Both offer next-day shipping but it is only allowed in select cities nationwide.
Eligible Products: Amazon has over 3 million products that are Amazon Prime eligible. Compared to Walmart, they have nearly 250,000 that have free 2-Day shipping available.
Extra Perks: Amazon has a wide variety of perks while Wal-Mart only allows in-store discounts.
How to get Walmart Free Shipping
Depending on the product, you’ll need to find an item that mentions “Free 2-Day Shipping” or the like on the product page. If you are searching for a specific product, you should be able to use the filters (specifically, the 2-Day Shipping filter) to whittle down your options. From there, select your item.
What is Walmart Delivery Unlimited?
Walmart’s Delivery Unlimited is its grocery subscription service. Or as some call it, their answer to Amazon Fresh. With Delivery Unlimited, you pay $12.95 a month (or $98 annually).
One of the major perks is avoiding shipping fees on orders that come out to at least $30.
Final Thoughts
Walmart’s free 2-day shipping is a great option for those who want their items in hand quicker than usual. For sellers, it will give them an excellent advantage over their competitors. Either way, it does give Amazon Prime a run for its money.
Regardless if you sell on one or both platforms, you can be able to find creative ways to win the buy box. For something like Walmart offering their free two-day shipping for the items you sell, you can bet that the same results may apply if you offered Prime for the items you sell on Amazon.
