Key Points
- The Walmart Marketplace ‘item spec’ feature helps ecommerce sellers properly categorize their products and include relevant product attributes, making products easier to discover.
- Walmart item spec provides the correct fields to enter depending on the product category you are selling on the Walmart Marketplace.
- Providing product specifications will make your products easier to find and lower returns. It also means your products will be easier to find on search engines.
- Walmart’s item spec 5.0 is the latest version, and it includes ‘Product Type Groups’ and ‘Product Types.’ Version 5 promises improved categorization, site shelving, discoverability, and relevance.
The Walmart marketplace is loaded with features to help merchants succeed. One of those key features is item spec. This might be the first time you’ve ever heard of Walmart’s item spec feature; however, if you sell on Walmart, you likely take advantage of it every time you create or update a product.
In this article, we’ll explain what Walmart’s item spec does, its benefits, some of the challenges that can arise when using it, and how Descartes Sellercloud can make managing Walmart listings easier.
What Is Walmart Item Spec?
Item specs are a part of product creation on the Walmart Marketplace. It is essentially short for ‘item specifications,’ in other words, the features of your product. For example, if you create a Walmart Marketplace listing for a product in the smartwatch category, Walmart will ask for details related to that product. It is based on the category that you choose.
Walmart will provide item-specific attributes. For example, when selling a T-shirt, Walmart will not require you to enter a screen size because this is irrelevant to the product.
Providing sellers with relevant item specifications prevents them from missing relevant information that the buyer may need, making listings more useful to both buyers and sellers. Entering the right item specifications helps consumers find your products and make better buying decisions (reducing the possibility of returns).
When searching for products on Walmart.com, they may use filters to refine their search, and your products are more likely to appear in relevant searches. This affects how your products appear on Walmart.com and search engines like Google. It optimizes your listings so they can be found more easily online.
It also makes updating listings easier if you have specific fields, prevents buyers from searching for information in the description, and makes it easier for the seller to update if there are changes. The item spec does not include the product title or description, though both are important and impact your listing’s ability to reach customers.
Why Walmart Item Specs Can Affect Listing Timelines
Walmart item specs are designed to ensure consistent, high-quality product data across the marketplace. When item specs are not fully understood or applied correctly, they can sometimes slow the listing process. This is especially common when sellers are onboarding new products or expanding into new categories with unfamiliar attribute requirements.
In some cases, listings may remain in review longer than expected while required data is validated. Sellers may need to revisit product attributes, formatting, or values to align with Walmart’s listing standards. While these checks help maintain a reliable shopping experience, they can introduce delays if product data is incomplete or inconsistent.
For sellers managing many listings or frequent product launches, even small adjustments to item specs can impact go-live timelines. Understanding how Walmart item specs work and preparing accurate product data upfront helps listings publish more smoothly and reduces the need for rework.
The Operational Impact of Managing Walmart Item Specs Across Growing Product Catalogs
As the number of product listings increase, managing Walmart item specs manually can become more complex. Sellers often need to track numerous attributes that vary by product type, which can require additional time and coordination across teams.
When item specs are handled through spreadsheets or channel-specific processes, updates may need to be repeated for each product or variation. Over time, this can slow down listing creation and make ongoing maintenance more resource-intensive. It can also be challenging to ensure that product data remains consistent as updates are made.
For sellers operating across multiple marketplaces, item specs add another layer to product data management. Each channel has its own requirements, and managing these separately can limit efficiency as volumes grow. A structured approach to item specs helps sellers maintain accuracy, reduce manual effort, and support scalable listing operations on Walmart and beyond.
What Is Walmart Item Spec 5.0?
Item spec 5.0 is the latest version of Walmart’s item spec feature. According to Walmart’s Developer Portal:
“Walmart has launched new and updated requests in the Item Management API! Item Spec 5 now has Product Type Groups and Product Types aimed to improve content quality during item setup and maintenance through granular Product Type data models. This will create consistency between specs, style guides and content quality scoring.”
Walmart also states that with version 5.0 of the item spec, you will have improved categorization, site shelving, discoverability, and relevance for your products. If you connect to the Walmart Marketplace via API, it is important to note that support for version 4.0 will end on October 31st. To avoid disruptions, you should migrate to 5.0 before this date.
Review the documentation here for more information and to start migrating to Item Spec 5.0.
What Are the Benefits of Walmart Item Spec 5.0?
According to Walmart Marketplace’s Item Spec page, three of the biggest benefits of Item Spec 5.0 are:
- An easier workflow for faster setup times and management.
- New and improved attributes to make your products easier to find and improve the flow of customer traffic.
- Walmart Marketplace item spec setup is shared with WFS (Walmart Fulfillment Services), so you don’t have to set up products twice.
The page also lists the many benefits item spec 5.0 has over item spec 4. It says:
- Increase content quality by up to 10% with even more attributes compared to Item Spec 4.
- Increase attribute relevance. Item Spec 5.0 has removed 60% of generic attributes.
- Increase attribute granularity by up to 65% with more precise item attribution.
- More attributes are now structured text, meaning listings will appear on the correct shelves and navigation paths on Walmart.com.
- Drive listing consistency: whether you’re a first or third-party seller, the item setup data model is the same.
How Sellercloud Simplifies Walmart and Multichannel Listing Management
Sellercloud is an multichannel ecommerce solution that helps online sellers expand their presence across marketplaces, manage inventory and warehouse operations, and increase efficiency. With our solution, you can create listings once and push them to your connected marketplaces. You can also manage channel-specific properties per item, enabling you to enter item-specific information that will only be shown on Walmart.
Descartes has a close relationship with the Walmart Marketplace, and all Sellercloud users can automatically benefit from our item spec 5.0 integration. You only ever need to create listings once and the system automatically knows how to map them for publishing on Walmart, so you don’t have to do it manually, saving sellers countless hours. You can also manage channel-specific details per item for wholesale and your personal store, in addition to marketplaces.
Read our technical documentation for more about how Sellercloud manages Walmart Marketplace attributes.
Sellercloud also provides other software solutions for many other ecommerce challenges, such as:
Do you want to maximize your Walmart Marketplace listing potential? Book a demo today to discover what Sellercloud can do for your multichannel business.
Walmart Item Spec FAQs
What Happens If Required Walmart Item Specs Are Missing?
If required item specs are missing, Walmart may pause the listing from publishing until the information is provided. This helps ensure product data meets marketplace standards and supports a consistent customer experience. Sellers are typically prompted to review and update the affected attributes before the listing can move forward.
Do Walmart Item Specs Change Over Time?
Yes, Walmart item specs can evolve as categories expand and marketplace requirements are refined. New attributes may be introduced, or existing ones may become required for certain product types. Sellers should periodically review their listings and product data to ensure they remain aligned with current requirements.
How Can Sellers Prepare Product Data for Walmart More Efficiently?
Sellers can improve efficiency by organizing product information in advance and standardizing how attributes are captured internally. Using a centralized system to manage product data makes it easier to apply item specs consistently, reduce manual updates, and support faster listing creation.
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