How to Increase Sales in Walmart

How to Increase Sales in Walmart

To increase sales in Walmart, brands must improve the performance signals that drive expansion: velocity, in-stock consistency, shelf conversion, pricing architecture, and operational reliability. The highest-impact levers include focusing on hero SKUs, strengthening modular placement and packaging clarity, protecting availability above target, and aligning Walmart Connect investment with inventory readiness.

Walmart sales growth comes from repeatable systems — not isolated tactics.

Why Walmart Sales Growth Works Differently

At Walmart, growth is not just about demand generation.

It is about performance discipline.

Many brands invest heavily in:

• Promotions
• Retail media
• New item launches

…but stall because fundamentals break:

• In-stock drops
• Velocity becomes inconsistent
• Buyers lose confidence
• Modular productivity weakens

Walmart rewards repeatable execution. Growth must be stable to scale.

The 7 Drivers of Walmart Sales Growth

1) Focus on Hero SKUs

Most Walmart growth is built on:

• 1–3 hero items
• Repeatable shopper behavior
• Stable replenishment
• Clear category role

Spreading demand across too many SKUs dilutes velocity and increases operational strain.

Assortment expansion should follow proven performance — not precede it.

2) Improve Shelf Placement and Adjacency Strategy

Shelf placement materially impacts:

• Visibility
• Shopper discovery
• Comparison behavior
• Impulse conversion

Winning adjacency — being placed next to the right competitive set — often matters more than simply adding facings.

Modular strategy is a growth lever.

3) Strengthen Packaging for Shelf Conversion

At Walmart, packaging is your most important marketing asset.

It must communicate in seconds:

• What the product is
• Why it matters
• What makes it different
• Why it is worth the price

Clarity beats brand poetry.

If shoppers hesitate, velocity suffers.

4) Protect In-Stock and Replenishment Discipline

You cannot build repeatable velocity if availability is unstable.

Out-of-stocks cause:

• Lost sales
• Velocity decline
• Weakened modular productivity
• Reduced buyer confidence
• Slower distribution expansion

High in-stock performance is one of the strongest signals supporting sales growth.

Availability protects momentum.

5) Improve Pricing Architecture (Without Over-Discounting)

Discounting can spike velocity temporarily — but it often creates long-term instability.

Common risks include:

• Margin compression
• Shopper deal-conditioning
• Forecast volatility
• Demand spikes that create stockouts

Better approaches include:

• Tightening pack architecture
• Improving value communication
• Aligning to category price bands
• Ensuring price-per-unit logic is clear

Sustainable velocity beats temporary lift.

6) Use Walmart Connect to Accelerate What’s Already Working

Retail media should amplify proven winners.

It should not be used to cover:

• Poor conversion
• Weak shelf placement
• Unclear pricing
• Unstable inventory

When hero SKUs are stable and in-stock performance is strong, Walmart Connect can:

• Increase discoverability
• Drive new-to-brand acquisition
• Strengthen omnichannel velocity
• Protect digital shelf share

Media accelerates strength. It does not create it.

7) Align Walmart.com and In-Store Strategy

Walmart is increasingly omnichannel.

Walmart.com performance supports in-store growth by:

• Building brand familiarity
• Improving conversion signals
• Strengthening search visibility
• Driving pickup and delivery demand
• Creating omnichannel momentum

Digital and store execution must reinforce each other.

Separating them slows growth.

Common Reasons Walmart Sales Decline

Most sales slowdowns are structural — not marketing-related.

Common causes include:

• In-stock erosion
• Poor modular placement
• Over-expanded SKU assortment
• Weak packaging clarity
• Media spend not aligned to inventory
• Forecast volatility
• Lack of weekly performance rhythm

Sales decline is usually a signal — not a mystery.

Walmart Sales Growth Checklist

Use this to identify your highest-impact opportunity:

• In-stock performance consistently above target
• Hero SKUs clearly prioritized
• Shelf conversion improving
• Velocity stable across multiple cycles
• Connect spend aligned to inventory readiness
• Operational issues trending down (OTIF, deductions, forecast variance)
• Pricing architecture clean and competitive
• Walmart.com listings optimized for conversion

If multiple areas are weak, growth will remain fragile.

FAQs

What is the fastest way to increase sales in Walmart?

Fix availability first. Then focus on hero SKUs and shelf conversion. Media should come after fundamentals stabilize.

How does Walmart measure success?

Walmart evaluates velocity, modular productivity, in-stock consistency, operational reliability, and category contribution.

Can retail media fix weak store sales?

Not long-term. Media can accelerate strong fundamentals but cannot replace them.

Should we add new SKUs to increase sales?

Only after hero SKUs demonstrate repeatable velocity and operational stability. Premature expansion often weakens overall performance.

How Hatchery Helps Brands Increase Sales in Walmart

Increasing Walmart sales requires coordination across strategy, operations, analytics, and digital execution.

Hatchery supports brands through:

• HatchCore® — Aligns Sales, Supply Chain, and Digital readiness
• Hatch+® — Strengthens velocity strategy and merchant positioning
• HatchAnalytics® — Connects in-stock, OTIF, and velocity data to action
• HatchDigital® — Optimizes Walmart.com conversion and Walmart Connect execution

The objective is not short-term lift.

It is repeatable growth.

Talk to Our Walmart Team