Introduction to Sponsored Products
- Overview of Sponsored Products
- Accounts & Onboarding Guide
- Sponsored Products Placement
- Levels of Account Access
Overview of Sponsored Products
This article provides an overview of Sponsored Products on Walmart's site and app, how it works, and the cost.
What are Sponsored Products?
Sponsored Products help customers discover relevant products as they search and browse Walmart.ca, mWeb (Mobile Web), and the Walmart App. They are ads that appear on prominent, high-traffic spots such as homepage, browse, search, item and content pages. Sponsored Products drive discovery and purchase among Walmart customers searching for your products.
*Ad Placements are subject to change
Key benefits
- Boost product sales
- Increase share of wallet
- Expand product visibility
- Grow & protect market share
- Maximize profitable SKUs
- Optimize ad strategy through robust reporting
How do Sponsored Products work?
Sponsored Products are cost-per-click (CPC) ads that promote individual product listings on Walmart’s site and app. When customers click on the Sponsored Product ad, they are taken to the advertised product’s detail page.
The promoted products are selected based on the winner of a first price auction for each ad placement. The winner of the auction is based on the product’s relevancy to a customer’s search query on the Walmart site or app and the amount the advertiser is willing to spend on the ads (i.e., their bids and budget.)
To be selected you must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Product is in stock
- Product is winning the Buy Box
- Product is published
Note: All variant types are eligible for Sponsored Products campaigns if they meet the above requirements.
How is a product’s relevancy determined?
Walmart determines a product’s relevancy to a customer’s search query based on various factors, including:
- Customer intent: When customers search for specific keywords or phrases on Walmart’s site or app, the algorithm evaluates those terms to detect any implied or explicit intent. It also recommends popular products based on various signals, such as what other customers searched for or purchased after using similar search terms. This approach delivers a more personalized and intuitive shopping experience by highlighting relevant results for Walmart customers.
- Item page content quality: When a customer searches on Walmart’s site and app, the algorithm scans product detail pages for keywords within the customer query and ranks the product results based on their relevancy and eligibility for Sponsored Search placements. Content and listing quality scores provide advertisers with insights into which product detail pages need optimization and how well those listings are performing.
- Item-level customer engagement: Increased customer engagement such as clicks and purchases for a particular product further boosts a product’s relevance in search results, helping surface the items that resonate most with customers. A product’s longevity in the Walmart ecosystem strengthens its relevancy.
What other factors determine an auction winner?
Bid price works in conjunction with relevancy.
- Bid price: The amount the advertiser is willing to spend when a shopper clicks on the Sponsored Product ad for their advertised product.
- Relevancy: The more relevant a product is to the customer’s search query, the less the ad is likely to cost the advertiser, when other factors remain constant. On the other hand, the higher and more competitive the advertiser’s bid is, the more likely the ad is to be displayed while it is relevant to the customer’s search query.
How much do Sponsored Products cost?
Sponsored Products are sold on a cost-per-click basis in Walmart's first-price auction.
Relevancy + bid price determines the auction winner.
Budget and bid minimums:
- For Marketplace sellers: the daily budget must be $50 or above. If you choose to set total budget, it must be $50 or above.
- For manual campaigns, bids cannot be lower than $0.80.
- For automatic campaigns, bids cannot be lower than $0.80.
Effective March 18, 2025, to June 30, 2025:
- For Marketplace sellers: the daily budget must be $20 or above. If you choose to set a total budget, it must be $20 or above.
- For manual campaigns, bids cannot be lower than $0.40.
- For automatic campaigns, bids cannot be lower than $0.40.
Note: We want to ensure that our advertisers understand the potential negative impact of clicking on your own ads. Clicking on your ads is considered a wasted click. Clicking on your ads can significantly impact your return on ad spend (ROAS) and compromise the effectiveness of your advertising efforts. Inform your employees on the importance of not searching for and clicking on your ads.
Accounts & Onboarding Guide
This article guides you on getting started with a Sponsored Search Canadian advertising account. It covers how to access your account and the steps to request setting up a new account if you don't already have one.
How to access your Canadian Sponsored Search advertising account
Log in to the Walmart Connect Canada Ad Center (https://advertising.walmart.com/ca) using your existing credentials for your Seller Center account.
If you’re not the primary contact of the Seller account but have been provided access to manage campaigns on behalf of a Seller (i.e. you are an agency, or campaign manager), use the “Sign in with Walmart.ca” option to log in.
If you have login issues:
- Check with your advertising account Admin to ensure that you have been granted correct access.
- If you are still having login issues, open a Support Case.
How to request a new Sponsored Search advertising account
New Walmart Connect Canada advertisers
If you are a Marketplace Canada seller* who does not have an existing Canadian Sponsored Search advertising account, please email Info_WMC_CA@walmart.com with your Seller ID and the email you use to access your Seller Centre account to begin the onboarding process.
Note: If you are a new Marketplace Canada seller, Walmart Connect Canada offers a seamless experience in providing you with access to the Walmart Connect Canada Ad Center. Every two weeks, new Marketplace sellers are integrated to our Ad Center, and you will receive an onboarding email to confirm your access.
If your company is an existing Marketplace seller, but you are having trouble accessing Walmart Connect Ad Center, contact your account admin to request a change of access levels
*To receive a Walmart Connect advertising account you must first be an approved Marketplace Seller. Sign Up Here to Become a Walmart Marketplace Canada Seller.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I find my Partner ID?
Find your Partner ID by logging into the Seller Center. The ID will be the number next to your company name at the top of the page.
How long does the onboarding process take after I submit a request?
Generally, this process may take up to two weeks (ten business days). Depending on your account type and the information provided.
How can I get help with onboarding?
If you need additional help with onboarding that isn’t covered in this guide, open a Support Case.
How will I be charged for my ad spend?
For Marketplace Sellers, ad spend amounts will be deducted from your net sales on a bi-weekly basis.
Sponsored Products Placement
This article provides an overview of Sponsored Products ad placements, benefits, when to use and what ad slots are available for Sponsored Products on Walmart's site and app.
Placements overview
The table below provides an at-a-glance overview of the placements available, the pages on which they're featured and the targeting strategies available.
*Subject to change without notice
Search In-grid
Provides:
- Contextual visibility.
- Ads appears in Search Results and Browse pages.
Use to:
- Promote relevant products.
- Maintain market share for top-selling products.
- Protect your brand against competing products in top spots.
- Increase exposure by appearing in sponsored and organic in-grid results.
Featured ad slots:
- Ads can appear in slots:
- Available for Automatic and Manual campaigns.
Carousels
Provides:
Increased visibility. Your ad appears in browse, content, bottom of search results, middle and bottom of product details.
Increased visibility. Your ad appears in browse, content, and search results, middle and bottom of product details through dedicated and personalized modules: Shoppers also considered, Other products of interest, More items to explore
Use to:
- Promote relevant products.
- Maintain market share for top-selling products.
Featured slots:
- Product Carousels appear on Search Results, Browse pages and on Item pages. The maximum Sponsored Products per carousel is 18.
- 1 Sponsored Product Carousel per Search Results page.
- 2 Sponsored Product Carousels per page on item page.
- Ads also appear in Personalization Carousels on the product details page in the Shoppers also considered model. Maximum of One Sponsored Products per Personalization Carousel.
- Available for Automatic and Manual campaigns.
Buy Box
Provides:
Premium placement. High visibility for more traffic, reviews, and sales because it’s located on a product’s detail page.
Use to:
- Become eligible for Sponsored Products.
- Get higher click through rates (CTR).
- Increase conversion rates.
- Send customers to your Walmart product page.
Featured ad slots:
- The Buy Box is located on the product detail page of a relevant or complementary product.
- Highly competitive placement since multiple sellers can offer the same product.
- One placement per page.
- Available for Automatic and Manual campaigns.
Note: We want to ensure that our advertisers understand the potential negative impact of clicking on your own ads. Clicking on your ads is considered a wasted click. Clicking on your ads can significantly impact your return on ad spend (ROAS) and compromise the effectiveness of your advertising efforts. Inform your employees on the importance of not searching for and clicking on your ads.
Level of Account Access
This article provides an overview of Levels of Account Access including Admin management and users of an account.
Admin Management
The Admin Management section provides admin-level users an overview, plus the ability to:
- Add or delete all users and agencies that have access to the account.
- Edit the access levels of all users and agencies on their account.
Accessing Admin Management
If you have Admin-level access, you can access Admin Management by clicking the person icon labeled Account at the top right corner and selecting Admin.
Note: If you do not have access to this section, please reach out to the Admin on your account. If there are no Admins on your account or you are unsure who the Admins are, please open a case with the Advertiser Help team.
Adding a user to your account
To add a user to your account, account admins will follow this process:
- Navigate to the User - Advertiser Level section on the Admin page.
- Click + Add User at the bottom of the section.
- Enter the new user’s email address, first and last name. The system will verify the email address provided.
- Select the level of access you wish to provide to the user: admin, write or read from the Access type dropdown.
- Click Add user.
Editing a user’s access level
To edit a user’s access level, account admins will follow this process:
- Navigate to the User - Advertiser Level section on the Admin page.
- Click the pencil icon ( ) next to the user you wish to edit.
- Select an access level from the dropdown.
- Click Change to save your changes.
Removing a user
To remove a user from your account, account admins will follow this process:
- Navigate to the User - Advertiser Level section on the Admin page.
- Click the delete icon ( ) next to the user you wish to remove.
- Click Got it to confirm and delete the user.
Note: When you remove a user, they will only be removed from that particular account. If the user has access to any other advertiser accounts, they will maintain access to those accounts.
Users
A user is an individual who can access the Walmart Connect Ad Center with their email address (this is the same email address used to register on Walmart.ca or Seller Center). You can add anyone you would like as a user. Within the Walmart Connect Ad Center Sponsored Search platform, there are three levels of access users can have:
