How to Connect Printful to Walmart

almart’s beginnings can be traced back to 1962 when the American business magnate Sam Walton predicted “that the discount idea was the future.” So he opened his first Wal-Mart Discount City. 

Advertisement for the first Walmart store’s opening. Source: Walmart

His prediction turned out to be absolutely correct. In 2023, Walmart had more than 10K physical stores worldwide and was the second-largest online retailer, with a 6.4% market share in the US. While 6.4% may not sound like much, that amounts to $313 billion in sales.

Source: Statista

Walmart offers a huge exposure to a customer base that already knows and trusts the brand. You can put your custom products in front of these customers and inherit some of that trust. 

This article will show how to connect Printful to Walmart step by step so you can start dropshipping custom products on one of the largest ecommerce retailers. Let’s get started!

Can I integrate Printful with Walmart?

Yes, you can integrate Printful with Walmart. This integration allows you to sell print-on-demand (POD) products on Walmart by connecting your Printful account to Walmart’s platform, automating order fulfillment and shipping.

How to connect Printful to Walmart

Now, let’s get into the nitty-gritty. What are the steps to get started with Walmart?

Please note that Printful’s Walmart Marketplace integration is currently available only for businesses registered in the US.

Step 1: Create a Printful account

First, you need to create a Printful account. Sign up with your email or Facebook, Google, or Apple account. It’s free and easy to do.

Source: Printful

Step 2: Apply to sell on the marketplace

When reviewing your application, Walmart checks if your financial, legal, and tax practices comply with their guidelines. 

Here are the minimum qualifications set by Walmart:

• Business Tax ID(s) (SSN not accepted) or Business License Number

• Supporting documents that verify your business name and address

• History of marketplace or ecommerce success

• A catalog that complies with Walmart’s Prohibited Products Policy

Application review time may vary case-by-case. Once approved, you’ll receive an invitation email.

After you’re approved and have finished onboarding, Walmart evaluates your seller metrics to see if you meet the Walmart Seller Performance Standards. These metrics include order defect rate, cancellations, returns, shipping times, tracking, and customer reviews.

With Printful, you get top-tier products with a mere 0.24% reshipment rate. Each product undergoes a rigorous 3-step quality check before, during, and after fulfillment. Plus, you can access unparalleled customer support and shipping worldwide.

Step 3: Get API credentials from Walmart

Client ID and Client Secret are your API credentials. You’ll need them to connect your Printful account with Walmart. Here’s how to get them.

Go to Walmart Developer Portal and sign in with your Walmart credentials. Then, click My Account.

Source: Walmart Developer Portal

Then, click on Add New Key For A Solution Provider. In the dropdown, select Printful and click Next.

Source: Walmart

Tick all full-access checkboxes, then click Submit.

Source: Walmart

Once submitted, you’ll see your Client ID and Client Secret.

Source: Walmart

Step 4: Request a UTC/GTIN exemption

Before you can connect your Printful and Walmart accounts, you need to request UTC/GTIN exemption.

UTC is universal product code (a type of barcode you usually see on products), and GTIN is Global Trade Item Number (the string of numbers you usually see right below the barcode).

Walmart requires the products you sell on its marketplace to have a GTIN. If products don’t have it, they’re removed from the platform. Since your Printful-fulfilled products don’t have GTIN because they are made on-demand, you must request an exemption. Here’s how.

On Walmart’s Help Center, select Support > Items and Inventory > Request exemption > UPC exemptions.

Source: Walmart Seller Help

You’ll be directed to their Help article, scroll to the bottom, and under Did this solve your issue?, click No. This will allow you to contact Walmart support about the exemption. After you select No, click the Open case via email and answer their questions.

Source: Walmart

To get the exemption, you must mention “Printful” and “made-to-order,” so Walmart knows we’re your POD provider and speeds up the process.

We recommend putting this information in the box under Please provide the reason for this exemption request, along with an explanation of why the items don’t have GS1-approved UPCs/GTINs.

Source: Walmart

Select the product categories that apply to your items. We recommend applying to up to 3 categories per case.

Submit the exception form, and you’re all set.

Step 5: Connect your Walmart store to Printful

Head over to your Printful Dashboard, find Stores in the left sidebar, choose Walmart integration, and click Connect.

Source: Printful

Scroll down to Step 3, and enter your API credentials. Then, press Connect.

Source: Printful

Step 6: Set up shipping for Walmart

Before adding your products, you’ll need to set up your shipping templates on Walmart’s end. Here’s how.

From the Walmart Seller Center, go to Settings > Seller Fulfillment.

Source: Walmart Seller Center

Set up your shipping template by clicking on the Shipping Templates tab.

Source: Walmart

First, you’ll have to decide if you want the shipping costs included in the product’s retail price to offer free shipping or if you want to have shipping rates.  

Offer free shipping

If you choose to include shipping costs in the product’s retail price, you’ll need to set up a free shipping template. 

Click on Create Shipping Template > Manual Shipping Settings.

Source: Walmart

Select your shipping rate model. We suggest using The weight of the total order option. Under Shipping Methods and Regions, select Value method.

Source: Walmart

You’ll also have to disable the Standard method. To do it, go to the Standard tab next to Value and toggle the switch.

Source: Walmart

Save the template, and you’re set.

Charge for shipping

You’ll need to create a special template to set up shipping costs according to Printful costs and charge your customers a shipping fee. 

In Shipping Templates, scroll down until you see 3 grey boxes. Click on Set up special template > Paid Standard Template.

Source: Walmart

Select your shipping rate model (we suggest using The weight of the total order option) and add the transit times and shipping costs according to Printful prices and shipping estimates.

Source: Printful

Save the template, and you’re done.

Assign products to the correct shipping profiles

In the left sidebar under Product Catalog, click Items > Manage Items > Update Items.

Source: Walmart

Mark your items as Seller Fulfilled and By template, and download the Shipping Template SKU mapping.

Source: Walmart

Open the downloaded template and fill it out. Here, you’ll need to map your product SKUs to Shipping template ID and Fulfillment Center ID. You can find your Shipping template IDs and Fulfillment center IDs here. Then, in the Action Type column, enter Add.

Upload the completed file to Walmart.

Source: Walmart

Select Bulk Mapping SKUs to Shipping Template and click Submit.

Source: Walmart

Need extra help setting up your shipping profile? Walmart has a great tutorial.

Design products and add them to your store

To add products to your Walmart store, you must first choose the products from Printful’s Catalog. We have 367 products available for you to design.

Source: Printful

Choose a product, click Create a product template, add your design, and press Save template. You’ll automatically be taken to the Product templates section on your Printful Dashboard.

Source: Printful

Hover over the product you’ve designed and want to add to your store. Then, click Add to store, select your Walmart store, and follow the steps. 

Source: Printful

After you’ve done that, Walmart can take up to one business day to process the products you push to your store. Once your products have been processed, they’ll appear on your Walmart store.

Got any additional questions?

We’ve got you—our Help Center has a whole section dedicated to questions about Walmart.

Source: Printful

Time to start selling

This concludes our guide to setting up your Walmart store. Kudos to you for getting this far, and best of luck on your selling journey! If you have any questions or want additional information, leave a comment below, and we’ll do our best to assist you.