Walmart Marketplace is seeing a significant increase in new Chinese sellers, with data showing that in April 2023, only 1.8% of new sellers were from China, compared to a record high of 73.8% in April 2024. This shift is a result of Walmart’s decision to open up its marketplace to international sellers in 2021, in response to pressure from competitors like Amazon and Chinese e-commerce companies Temu and Shein. The company has made efforts this year to onboard more Chinese sellers, including releasing a Seller Central dashboard interface in Chinese and holding a seller summit in Shenzhen.
Marketplace Pulse’s CEO, Juozas Kaziukėnas, believes it was inevitable for Walmart to embrace Chinese sellers, citing Amazon’s similar business model. A Walmart spokesperson confirmed the spike in China-based sellers and attributed it to the company’s new seller engagement efforts in China. Amazon is also increasingly reliant on third-party vendors, with nearly half of its top sellers being based in China. Temu, a Chinese-owned app, has capitalized on this trend by allowing Chinese vendors to reach American consumers directly, becoming the most downloaded app in America in 2023.
American brands like Blackburn may not face much competition from smaller overseas counterparts, but small-scale American sellers are feeling the impact of increased competition from China. The Chinese government has announced plans to support e-commerce sellers and encourage Chinese brands to expand their global presence. Sky Canaves, a retail analyst with EMarketer, believes there is a huge demand among Chinese sellers to tap into the U.S. market, and the government may deploy policies to support this endeavor.
Goldman Sachs’ investor note shows that Amazon and PDD Holdings (Temu’s parent company) represent 31% of global online sales, with Amazon and Walmart remaining dominant players in the U.S. PDD Holdings, worth over $200 billion, has seen remarkable growth since its founding less than a decade ago. The company’s profits in 2023 were over $8.4 billion, with nearly half attributed to Temu. This growth reflects the increasing presence of Chinese sellers in the e-commerce market and their impact on traditional retailers.
