Walmart’s Marketplace Is Booming. Here’s How Suppliers Can Protect Brands, Shoppers, and Sales
What CNBC’s investigation revealed
In September 2025, CNBC published an in-depth investigation into Walmart Marketplace, documenting cases where third-party sellers impersonated legitimate businesses and offered counterfeit health and beauty items. Reporters purchased and tested 20 products, many of which were confirmed to be fake by brands or independent labs. CNBC also found dozens of fraudulent sellers had registered with stolen business identities.
The report included accounts from shoppers who unknowingly purchased counterfeit supplements and cosmetics, as well as business owners whose company names and addresses were hijacked. The investigation highlighted a core challenge: Walmart’s decision in recent years to make its marketplace easier for sellers to join also lowered some verification hurdles compared with Amazon.
Walmart’s response and evolving controls
In response to CNBC’s reporting, Walmart emphasized that “trust and safety are non-negotiable” and described its use of layered enforcement, artificial intelligence, and rapid takedowns to protect customers. The company also announced new restrictions for sellers in categories such as Beauty and Personal Care, requiring item-level invoices or brand authorization letters before certain products can be listed.
Walmart has since joined the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition’s Marketplace Advisory Council, an industry forum that includes Amazon, eBay, and Alibaba, signaling a stronger public commitment to collaboration on brand protection.
The policy backdrop
Counterfeiting has long plagued online marketplaces. The INFORM Consumers Act, which took effect in 2023, requires platforms to verify information from high-volume sellers. Lawmakers continue to push the SHOP SAFE Act, which would go further by incentivizing marketplaces to proactively vet sellers and products. Legal experts note that courts have also become more open to holding platforms responsible when shoppers are harmed by counterfeit or faulty goods sold by third parties.
Why this matters for Walmart suppliers
Marketplace scale is fueling Walmart’s e-commerce growth, now second only to Amazon in the U.S. But with scale comes risk. Counterfeits erode shopper trust, and confusion between Walmart’s trusted stores and its third-party marketplace can amplify reputational harm. For suppliers, this environment underscores the need to:
- Protect intellectual property through Walmart’s Brand Portal
- Control authorized reseller networks and documentation
- Monitor for counterfeit indicators in reviews and search results
- Prepare compliance materials for stricter vetting, especially in gated categories like beauty and supplements
Key steps suppliers should take now
- Register with the Brand Portal to streamline takedowns of unauthorized listings
- Strengthen reseller agreements with clear rules for Walmart Marketplace participation
- Maintain SKU-level invoices and authorization letters to satisfy enhanced vetting
- Use serialization and tamper-evident packaging on high-risk goods
- Monitor reviews for counterfeit complaints and escalate through Walmart’s tools
- Align disclosures with INFORM Act requirements to avoid compliance risks
Looking ahead
Walmart Marketplace remains a powerful growth channel, and the retailer is now signaling greater seriousness about fraud prevention. For brand owners and legitimate sellers, the lesson is clear: documentation, oversight, and proactive enforcement are no longer optional. They are essential for protecting shoppers and sustaining growth.
This article incorporates investigative findings first reported by CNBC.
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