Walmart is testing ways to place products sold by third-party sellers directly in its stores, a move that could let marketplace merchants tap the retailer's physical footprint for pickup and delivery during the upcoming holiday season.

Kyle Carlyle, svp of global marketplace fulfillment for Walmart, disclosed the test at a Walmart Connect event for advertising partners in New York this week. The announcement signals that Walmart wants its marketplace sellers to operate inside the same store network that serves its first-party retail business.

What changes for third-party sellers?

Until now, the model has been strictly warehouse-based. Third-party sellers on Walmart's marketplace store products either in their own warehouses or in Walmart's fulfillment facilities, and they can only sell by shipping products to shoppers — a process that may take several days.

The new test breaks that constraint. It allows eligible products from third-party sellers to be picked up in a Walmart store or delivered from a store, rather than shipped from a distant warehouse.

For sellers, that shift matters in three ways:

• Speed: Store-based fulfillment cuts the several-day shipping window down to same-day pickup or local delivery.
• Reach: Sellers gain access to Walmart's massive network of stores and the shoppers who already browse those aisles.
• Holiday timing: The test arrives ahead of the holiday season, when fulfillment speed often decides which marketplace listings win the sale.

Why it matters for advertisers and marketers

Walmart announced the test at a Walmart Connect event, the arm of the business that sells retail media to advertising partners. That venue is itself a signal: marketplace inventory sitting in stores creates new surfaces where sponsored products, in-store visibility and pickup experiences can intersect.

Brands that sell on Walmart's marketplace should watch the eligibility criteria for the test closely. Carlyle said the program covers "eligible products," indicating Walmart will select which third-party items qualify for in-store placement — a decision that will effectively determine which sellers get the speed advantage during the holidays.

The test also deepens the contrast between Walmart's physical-store strategy and rivals that rely on distant fulfillment networks. Walmart has spent years positioning its stores as fulfillment hubs; extending that infrastructure to third-party sellers turns the marketplace from a shipping-only channel into an omnichannel one.

Walmart has not said how many stores, sellers or products the test will include, nor when it might expand beyond the trial. If the program works, third-party sellers on Walmart's marketplace could enter future holiday seasons with the same pickup and delivery capabilities that until now belonged exclusively to Walmart's own merchandise.