Walmart is intensifying efforts to enhance the shopping experience on its online marketplace by implementing stringent measures to combat fraudulent sellers and counterfeit goods, according to a recent company press release. With Walmart.com offering over half a billion items from a diverse and growing group of sellers, the retail giant is prioritizing trust and quality to meet the expectations of today’s shoppers, who demand value, assortment, and a seamless experience across channels.
The company says that counterfeits, while a small fraction of marketplace sales, pose an industry-wide challenge. Fraudulent sellers, increasingly sophisticated in evading detection, undermine consumer trust and the integrity of legitimate sellers. To address this, Walmart has deployed a multi-layered enforcement system designed to proactively identify and eliminate bad actors while fostering a secure and reliable shopping environment.
Walmart’s approach includes rigorous seller vetting, involving identity and business verification before onboarding, with continuous compliance reviews. The company employs AI-driven, real-time monitoring of product listings to detect policy violations and intellectual property infringements, combining machine learning, automation, and human oversight. Pre-listing protections restrict certain product categories to trusted sellers, and swift enforcement measures, including the removal of non-compliant listings or sellers, ensure rapid response to violations. Walmart also offers brand protection tools, enabling rights holders to flag issues for quick resolution, and provides customer-centric policies like convenient store-based returns for Marketplace items.
To stay ahead of evolving threats, Walmart is enhancing its systems and educating sellers to maintain high standards. The company’s dedicated Trust & Safety team investigates and resolves issues promptly, working alongside the majority of sellers who operate with integrity using AI to scan its being sold.
Beyond internal measures, Walmart is collaborating with public and private sectors to tackle counterfeits and organized retail crime. The company has championed the Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces (INFORM) Consumers Act, signed into law in 2023, to boost transparency in online marketplaces. It is also advocating for the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA) and engaging in discussions on the Stopping Harmful Offers on Platforms by Screening Against Fakes in E-commerce (SHOP SAFE) Act. Walmart partners with the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, and other organizations, including the Retail Industry Leaders Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to develop best practices and share intelligence on bad actors. Additionally, the company serves on the Marketplace Advisory Council of the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition.
These efforts reflect Walmart’s broader mission to create a safer, more trustworthy online marketplace, ensuring customers can shop with confidence while supporting the thousands of legitimate sellers on its platform.
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