The news: Walmart is testing a program in several Dallas stores that stocks select third-party merchandise in back rooms, making those items available for store pickup and delivery, per the Financial Times.

Why it matters: Many shoppers don’t know or care whether they’re buying from a marketplace seller or Walmart itself; they expect the same level of service regardless. If Walmart expands the test, it could help bridge the gap between Walmart’s first- and third-party sales by making key marketplace items as convenient to buy as in-store products.

That could provide a boost to Walmart’s already-fast-growing marketplace business.

• We expect its US marketplace sales to nearly double from $11.12 billion in 2024 to $21.3 billion in 2028.
• Walmart had nearly three times as many sellers over the holidays as a year earlierc, CFO John Rainey said at the J.P. Morgan Retail Round Up Forum earlier this month.
• Categories like home, hardlines, and fashion are all expanding at least 30%, he added.
• The retailer has about 500,000 SKUs on its marketplace and is widening its assortment, targeting roughly 300 must-have brands; it is currently about halfway there, including 75 added in the past year, Rainey noted.