The MarketPlace Code

Michael Lebhar
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The podcast that marketplaces every layer of the Walmart ecosystem. Hosted by Michael Lebhar, CEO of SellCord, each episode unpacks the strategies, data, and decisions shaping success inside Walmart’s ecosystem. From marketplace dynamics to in-store expansion, discover how leading brands are breaking barriers, scaling smarter, and redefining retail growth. If you want to go beyond the shelf and understand what truly drives Walmart's performance.

Episodes

  1. 4d ago

    Why Walmart Is No Longer Just a Retail Story: Digital Growth, Premium Brands, and Marketplace Opportunity

    Retail shelf space is no longer guaranteed, and relying solely on legacy distribution models is becoming a slow profit leak. In an ecosystem where digital commerce directly dictates physical retail placement, brands must adapt to the fastest-growing marketplace or risk getting pushed out by agile, digital-native competitors. We sit down with Jake Lebhar, co-founder of Cellcord, to unpack how brands can successfully navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of Walmart.com and the Walmart marketplace. We get into the exact tactical execution required to scale a brand from a 3P marketplace presence into a massive 1P national retail footprint. Jake breaks down how Walmart’s historical focus on EDLP and EDLC is shifting toward premium categories, why the average digital shopper profile is evolving, and how to navigate the technical realities of fulfillment logistics and the $35 order minimum. He shares his core philosophy that convenience is the new premium, showing how first-mover advantage on the platform right now mirrors the early golden era of Amazon. The hard reality of this marketplace is that many nine-figure legacy suppliers are completely blind to digital execution and are actively losing retail placement to sharper digital natives. Merchants are no longer treating Content Quality Scores as a final destination; it is merely a basic checkbox, and the true metric for survival is digital penetration. To stay on the shelf, operations must pivot toward an aggressive hybrid strategy that treats online velocity as direct leverage for physical store distribution. If you care about marketplace diversification, omnichannel retail distribution, and scaling your e-commerce revenue, you’ll get a lot from this episode. Please subscribe and share this video with another founder or brand operator looking to expand. What is the biggest hurdle your brand faces when trying to balance online sales with traditional retail placement? Let us know in the comments below. 0:00 - Introduction and Jake's Background 3:08 - Is Your Brand Right for Walmart? 9:55 - Logistics, Convenience, and the $35 Minimum Myth 19:05 - Using Marketplace Success to Get In-Store Retail 24:11 - The Shift from Content Scores to Digital Penetration 29:00 - Unlocking Growth with a Hybrid Strategy

    34 min

  2. Apr 27

    Ep. 4 - The Omnichannel Reality: A 15-Year Journey from Brick-and-Mortar to Digital Dominance

    The biggest changes in retail rarely look dramatic while you’re living through them. They look like a new checkout lane, a new website flow, a new metric your merchant won’t stop talking about. Our first guest, Dallas Counts, spent 18 years inside Walmart and Sam’s Club across food, impulse, and entertainment e-commerce, and he connects those “small” shifts into a clear story of how Walmart became a true omnichannel retailer. We talk through the behind-the-scenes evolution from speedy checkouts to self-checkout merchandising, what that taught Walmart about customer behavior, and how those same lessons now show up online as digital impulse and user experience design. Dallas also breaks down the early days of separate grocery and general merchandise sites, why unifying the platforms mattered, and how pickup and delivery turned stores into fulfillment engines. If you’re a brand, agency, or Walmart Marketplace seller, the supplier insights hit hard: why some categories resisted e-commerce, what the real “cost to play” looks like (from fulfillment to content optimization), and why partnership beats hesitation when merchants are trying to drive company initiatives. We also get practical about the fundamentals, including digital penetration, in-stock, ship speed, and the content basics that make your items discoverable on the digital shelf. If this helped you think differently about Walmart e-commerce strategy, subscribe to Marketplace Code, share the episode with a teammate, and leave a review with the biggest shift you’re seeing in your category.

    45 min

  3. Mar 23

    Ep. 3 - The New Rules of Walmart Growth: How AI Is Reshaping Retail Performance

    Walmart Marketplace search is starting to feel less like typing keywords and more like having a conversation, and that shift can either unlock growth or quietly bury your listings. We dig into what “agentic search” really means for Walmart sellers and suppliers, how tools like Sparky fit into the future of Walmart.com, and why Walmart will likely evolve carefully instead of flipping the table on rankings overnight. We share a clear framework for SEO, GEO (generative engine optimization), and AEO (answer engine optimization). You will hear why strong Walmart SEO still matters, how product type and attribute precision can decide whether you are even eligible to rank, and why catalog consistency is becoming a competitive advantage as AI relies on structured truth instead of creative fluff. We also talk through what we are seeing on PDPs with AI Key Features and how that changes the way shoppers scan and decide. Then we go off-site. Answer engines like ChatGPT and Gemini are already influencing shopping behavior and referral traffic, and they evaluate more than your Walmart listing. We explain the signals that build trust, why broader brand presence like helpful blog content still matters, and how to write key features and descriptions so an AI can confidently match your product to real questions. We close with practical testing methods to measure progress when there is no single “rank” to track. Subscribe, share the episode with a Walmart seller, and leave a review telling us what part of AI search you want us to unpack next.

    34 min

  4. Jan 26

    Ep. 2 - Marketplace Success: What Top Walmart Sellers Do Differently

    Suppliers big in stores often leave money and leverage on the table online. We break down how established 1P brands can use Walmart Marketplace to control pricing, run fast promotions, send external traffic, and unlock data that transforms both ecommerce results and in-store conversations. The goal isn’t just incremental revenue; it’s a stronger, more defensible Walmart business across channels. We start by mapping the real differences between 1P and 3P: owning retail and margin, planning a promo calendar around Flash Deals and seasonality, and choosing fulfillment that boosts conversion, especially through WFS. Then we dig into the marketplace levers that move the needle, strike-throughs, category takeovers, Google SEM routed into your PDPs, and Creator Boost for performance-driven influencer reach. Each lever feeds rank signals and share of voice, creating compounding impact when layered with Walmart Connect. Data is the unlock most suppliers miss. Listing Quality Score ties your ship speed and in-stock rate to discoverability and badges, while sales rank and funnel metrics spotlight where traffic drops off. With that insight, you can decide whether to variate onto your winning 1P page for instant velocity or publish standalone listings to capture more search real estate. We also cover how to reclaim brand control from resellers, fill pickup-and-delivery shipping gaps, and when DSV suppliers should shift to 3P for speed. Our award-winning case study shows the playbook in action: Walmart-exclusive SKUs, Walmart-specific content, disciplined investment in ads and promos, and expansion into Canada and Mexico. The result was 250 percent year-over-year growth and $10M in year two, plus better line reviews and stronger merchant trust.  If you’re ready to scale smarter, subscribe, share this with your team, and leave a review with the lever you’ll test first.

    29 min

  5. 12/22/2025

    Ep. 1 - Mastering Walmart’s Ecosystem: 1P, 3P, and the Power of Omnichannel

    Ready to turn Walmart into your strongest growth channel? We break down exactly how to choose between 1P, DSV, and 3P, why WFS unlocks conversion and rank, and how to use marketplace proof to win store distribution with less risk and more leverage. Instead of pitching hypotheticals, we show how to arrive at hard data, conversion rates, search share, and regional heat maps that give buyers confidence and help you scale smart. We start with the selling frameworks: store‑shared assortments that power true pickup and delivery, .com‑only assortments for controlled inventory and pricing, and the 3P paths that maximize flexibility. Then we get tactical. Map your product to the right category and product type, align titles with real shopper keywords, and secure fast two‑day coverage. Build a lead SKU for volume and flankers for digital shelf presence, so your brand shows up broadly across the queries that matter. If you’re launching a new mod, use 3P to solve the cold start problem: seed reviews, buy early visibility with efficient Walmart Connect, and flip that momentum into 1P with a compelling strike‑through that lifts conversion. We also dig into the bigger picture. Walmart’s partner‑first approach is changing the seller experience, from easier onboarding to tougher action on counterfeits and unauthorized resellers. Their EDLP focus keeps search honest and pushes brands to deliver real value. And the AI wave is here: from supplier tools to shopping assistants and a growing OpenAI referral channel, discovery is shifting fast. Brands that keep inventory healthy, content clear, and delivery fast will ride these surfaces as they expand. If you’re serious about owning your retail, protecting margins, and building an omnichannel flywheel, this playbook will get you moving. Subscribe, share with a teammate who needs a Walmart strategy refresh, and leave a review with your biggest Walmart growth question so we can tackle it next.

    24 min
  • 5 Episodes

About

The podcast that marketplaces every layer of the Walmart ecosystem. Hosted by Michael Lebhar, CEO of SellCord, each episode unpacks the strategies, data, and decisions shaping success inside Walmart’s ecosystem. From marketplace dynamics to in-store expansion, discover how leading brands are breaking barriers, scaling smarter, and redefining retail growth. If you want to go beyond the shelf and understand what truly drives Walmart's performance.

Information

  • Creator
    Michael Lebhar
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The MarketPlace Code
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    The MarketPlace Code