Walmart said Monday it was teaming up with e-commerce platform Shopify to expand its online marketplace in a ramped-up challenge to Amazon for third-party sellers.

The deal allows the estimated one million US businesses using Shopify's platform to sell on Walmart.com without any listing fees.

"As we launch this integration with Shopify, we are focused on US-based small and medium businesses whose assortment complements ours and have a track record of exceeding customers' expectations," said Jeff Clementz, vice president of Walmart Marketplace.

"We're excited to be able offer customers an expanded assortment while also giving small businesses access to the surging traffic on Walmart.com."

The move could boost Walmart's efforts to compete with Amazon, whose own marketplace of third-party sellers makes up more than half of the sales of the e-commerce leader.

It also comes with Amazon facing antitrust scrutiny in the US and other markets over allegations that it improperly used data from third-party sellers to boost sales of its own products.

Shopify said the deal was the first time Walmart has partnered with a commerce platform allowing small to medium-sized businesses to sell through its online marketplace.

"Shopify's new Walmart channel will enable our merchants to get their products in front of these high-intent, loyal buyers from one of the world's largest retailers, helping them expand their reach and drive sales," said a statement from the Canadian-based firm.

"Starting today, Shopify merchants across the US will be able to apply to sell through Walmart.com. If approved, they'll be able to connect their Shopify store to their Walmart Seller Account, enabling them to quickly and easily sync their product catalog and create product listings on Walmart.com."

Shopify said its sellers will not pay to list products on Walmart.com, giving only a referral fee after a sale.

The two firms said they expected the deal to add some 1,200 new Shopify sellers to Walmart's marketplace by the end of the year.

Walmart recently ended its separate e-commerce site Jet.com to concentrate on sales through its own brand.

"Growing our Marketplace is a strategic priority, and we are going to be smart as we grow," Clementz said.

The deal comes amid surging online sales during the pandemic by Amazon and others. Walmart said its own e-commerce sales were up 74 percent in the past quarter.

WhatsApp launches first digital payments option
San Francisco (AFP) June 15, 2020 –

Facebook on Monday added a digital payments feature to its WhatsApp messaging service, starting in Brazil but with an eye to expanding around the world.

WhatsApp users in Brazil can use the encrypted mobile messaging service to send money or make purchases, Facebook said in a blog post.

It marked the first time the payments platform used at the leading social network was woven into WhatsApp.

People will be able to send money or make a purchase from a local business without leaving their chat, the company noted.

"Payments on WhatsApp are beginning to roll out to people across Brazil beginning today and we look forward to bringing it to everyone as we go forward," the service said.

Sending money or making payments is a free option for WhatsApp users, but businesses will be charged a processing fee on par with those charged for typically credit card transactions, according to the messaging service.

Facebook sees long-term, money-making potential in making its social network and messaging apps venues for businesses to engage in online conversations and transactions with customers.

"The over 10 million small and micro businesses are the heartbeat of Brazil's communities," WhatsApp said.

"It's become second nature to send a zap to a business to get questions answered."

Digital payments on WhatsApp will be tied to credit or debit cards to start, and transactions will require special identification codes or fingerprint verification.

WhatsApp is encrypted end-to-end, and is the most popular mobile messaging app in the world with more than 1.5 billion monthly users around the world, according to market tracker Statistica.