Walmart Bidding Strategies: What Advertisers Need to Know

In today’s competitive e-commerce space, standing out on Walmart Marketplace requires more than just great products. It takes smart advertising and a clear understanding of how Walmart’s bidding system works. Whether you are a new seller or an experienced advertiser, knowing how to create the right bidding strategy can help you boost visibility, improve conversions, and increase your return on investment (ROI).

What is Walmart’s Bidding Strategy?

Walmart’s bidding strategy is all about setting the right amount you are willing to pay for your ads to appear in front of potential customers. These bids decide when and where your ads show up on Walmart’s platform. The better your bidding strategy, the higher your chances of getting your products seen by shoppers who are ready to buy.

Walmart offers two main types of bidding options for advertisers:

1. Automatic Bidding

Automatic bidding lets Walmart’s algorithm adjust your bids in real time to help you reach your campaign goals. It’s an easy and time-saving option if you prefer a more hands-off approach. Walmart automatically increases or decreases your bid depending on factors such as competition, likelihood of conversion, and placement performance.

For example, if the system predicts that a certain keyword is more likely to lead to a sale, it may increase your bid for that keyword automatically.

Learn more about how Walmart automates ad performance on Walmart Connect, the company’s official advertising platform.

2. Manual Bidding

Manual bidding gives you full control over your advertising spend. You decide exactly how much to bid for each keyword or product placement. This strategy works well for experienced advertisers who know their market and understand their campaign data.

For instance, if you know that a particular keyword drives high-value sales, you can set a higher bid to ensure your ad appears more often in those searches.

Understanding Walmart Bid Multipliers

A big part of Walmart’s advertising strategy involves bid multipliers, which let you fine-tune your bids based on where and how your ads appear. Instead of having one flat bid, you can increase or decrease your bid depending on factors such as device type or ad placement.

Platform Bid Multipliers

Platform bid multipliers allow you to adjust bids based on the device customers use to shop—mobile or desktop.

• Mobile Devices: If most of your customers shop using their phones, you can raise your bids for mobile devices. This increases the chances that your ads appear to shoppers browsing on smartphones and tablets.

• Desktop Devices: If your data shows that desktop users make larger purchases or have better click-through rates, you can increase your bids for desktop visibility.

Using this method, you can focus your ad spend on the platform that brings you the best results.

Placement Bid Multipliers

Placement bid multipliers help you adjust bids based on where your ad appears within Walmart’s ecosystem.

• Search Results: Ads in search results are seen by people who are actively looking for specific products. Increasing your bids here can boost your visibility for high-intent shoppers.

• Product Pages: Ads that appear on product detail pages are perfect for cross-selling or upselling related items. For example, if someone is viewing a laptop, you could show ads for laptop bags or accessories.

Both of these placements play a major role in improving your Walmart Sponsored Products campaign performance.

How to Implement Walmart Bid Multipliers Effectively

To make the most of bid multipliers and get the best possible results, follow these simple steps:

1. Analyze Your Campaign Data
   Review your performance data to identify which platforms, devices, and placements drive the most conversions. Use Walmart’s analytics dashboard to find patterns in customer behavior.

2. Set a Strong Base Bid
   Before applying multipliers, establish a solid base bid that matches your campaign goals and budget. This base bid serves as the foundation for all future adjustments.

3. Apply Strategic Multipliers
   Use multipliers to increase bids where performance is strongest. For example, if mobile users convert 30% better than desktop users, apply a mobile multiplier to raise bids for that audience.

4. Monitor and Adjust Regularly
   Keep an eye on how your campaigns perform. If certain devices or placements are not delivering results, lower your bids or shift focus to higher-performing areas. Continuous optimization is key to maintaining profitability.

Why Walmart Bidding Strategies Matter

A well-structured bidding strategy helps you:

• Maximize your ad visibility

• Reach high-intent shoppers

• Use your advertising budget more efficiently

• Improve conversion rates and overall ROI

By combining automatic or manual bidding with smart bid multipliers, sellers can make their ads work harder and smarter. This helps ensure that your products reach the right customers at the right time, improving your competitiveness on Walmart Marketplace.