Get Holiday-Ready on Walmart Marketplace: The 2026 Seller Checklist

Key Holiday Dates and Events for Walmart Sellers

Here are seven ways to help you get your Walmart Marketplace store ready for the holiday season.

Keep Your Customer Favourite in Stock

Walmart’s Customer Favorites program helps sellers identify products with strong demand. Eligible listings can get up to 5x more page views and 12x higher sales per item than similar products.

What to do: Review Customer Favorites recommendations in the Seller Center and check past sales to decide which products to restock. Keep 8–12 weeks of inventory for seasonal best sellers.

Bonus: Eligible products can receive 100% off referral fees, 100% off storage fees, and 15% off fulfillment fees when they meet Walmart’s requirements. The offer ends January 31, 2027. Check Walmart’s logistics holiday checklist for details.

Fix Your Product Listings

Complete, accurate listings help shoppers find the right products. They also help Sparky, Walmart’s AI shopping assistant, match products to shoppers’ needs.

Start with your top 20 products:

• Complete all relevant product attributes.
• Write clear titles and descriptions using relevant search terms.
• Add high-quality images and Rich Media.
• Fix issues flagged in Listing Quality in Seller Center.

Find listing and ad gaps faster. Optiwise.ai helps identify listing and advertising opportunities, with seasonality recommendations for peak events. Simplify listing improvements with one-click AI optimization.

Price Competitively Without Losing Margin

Shoppers often compare prices before buying. Competitive pricing is also a requirement for sellers who want to qualify for the fulfillment offer.

What to do: Set a minimum price for each product to stay competitive without cutting into your profit. Review competitor prices regularly and adjust your pricing when needed.

Plan your Walmart Ads Month By Month

Before increasing your ad budget, make sure your products are in stock and winning the Buy Box (the featured offer on the product page).This is especially important for Sponsored Products, which only run when the above conditions are met.

A simple holiday ad plan:

• October: Build visibility and test campaigns.
• Early November: Increase budgets for keywords that generate sales.
• Cyber 5: Focus spending on high-intent keywords and best-performing products.
• Mid-December: Monitor delivery deadlines and adjust campaigns based on product availability.

Ship Faster With Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS)

During the holiday season, shoppers expect fast delivery. With WFS, Walmart stores your inventory, picks and packs orders, and handles shipping, customer service, and returns.

According to Walmart, items with the “Fulfilled by Walmart” tag and delivery in two days or less see an average 50% increase in GMV.

What to do: Prioritize your best sellers, Customer Favorites, and promotional products for WFS. New to WFS? Read our Walmart Fulfillment Services guide.

Other fulfillment options to consider:

• Inventory Transfer Service: Distributes inventory across up to eight fulfillment centers. Walmart reports a 17% improvement in next-day shipping and an average 15% GMV lift.
• Multichannel Solutions: Use WFS inventory to fulfill orders from your own website and other marketplaces.
• Self-fulfillment: Use Ship with Walmart for shipping labels and Simplified Shipping Settings to manage delivery promises.

Storage fees: Walmart’s holiday guidance outlines zero peak-season storage fees and no fuel surcharges. Check the latest terms in the Seller Center before sending inventory, as eligibility and fees may vary.

Know The Holiday Return Rules

Walmart extends the return window for most eligible items purchased between October 1 and December 31, 2026, allowing returns until January 31, 2027.

Review your return policy and check the Seller Center to understand how the holiday extension applies to your Marketplace products. Make sure your listings clearly communicate return conditions so shoppers know what to expect.

Check Your Numbers Every Week

• Monitor WFS inventory daily and reorder before stock runs out. Learn how to improve WFS profitability.
• Review shipping and delivery performance weekly to spot delays early.
• Watch your top sellers and new Customer Favorites recommendations.
• Respond to customer messages promptly, including over weekends. Check the Seller Center for Walmart’s current response-time requirements.
• Check your Pro Seller status regularly to make sure you’re meeting Walmart’s requirements.
• Track your organic and ads campaign efforts in one dashboard using Optiwise.ai to identify opportunities and boost conversions.