Walmart affiliate dos and don'ts

If you promote Walmart products through their affiliate programme, you need to follow Walmart's rules to keep your account in good standing. This guide covers the most important do's and don'ts so you don't risk losing your account or your commissions.

This is a summary, not legal advice. The full Walmart affiliate programme terms are available inside your Impact Radius account. Always read the latest version when you sign up and any time you receive an update notice.

Quick reference

  • Programme: Walmart Affiliate Programme, managed through Impact Radius
  • Commission rates: 1 to 4% depending on category
  • Cookie window: 3 days (the customer must complete the purchase within 3 days of clicking your link)
  • Country: United States only. International publishers can apply with a US address but the programme only earns on Walmart.com sales.

The do's

Disclose your affiliate relationship

You must clearly tell visitors that you earn a commission when they buy through your links. This is required by both the FTC in the United States and Walmart's affiliate terms. FreshStore handles this automatically with its built-in affiliate disclaimer.

Always use the tracking link or tracking ID you get from Impact Radius. FreshStore builds these for you automatically once you've added your tracking ID in your store settings. Don't try to construct your own affiliate URLs by hand.

Keep your account information up to date

If your address, payment details, or website list changes, update them inside your Impact account. Walmart can withhold commissions if your tax forms or payment details are out of date.

Promote products that match your store niche

Walmart wants relevant, useful traffic. Affiliates who promote a focused niche tend to earn more and stay in good standing longer than affiliates who promote everything.

The don'ts

Don't use Walmart's name or logo in your domain or store name

Walmart prohibits use of "Walmart" in your domain (e.g. walmartdeals.com), your store name, your social media handles, or your email addresses. Walmart's branding is trademarked and using it implies an official relationship that you don't have.

Stores with "walmart" in the domain or store name will usually have their affiliate account terminated and any earned commissions forfeited. Choose a generic store name, not one that copies a merchant.

Don't bid on Walmart-branded keywords in paid ads

Walmart prohibits bidding on its trademarks in Google Ads, Bing, or any other paid search platform. Examples of prohibited keywords:

  • walmart
  • walmart sale
  • walmart [product name]
  • Misspellings like wallmart, wal-mart, wlmart

You can bid on generic product keywords (e.g. kids running shoes) and send traffic to your store, where the Walmart affiliate links live. The restriction is on using Walmart's brand name in your ad copy and bid keywords.

Don't promote restricted categories

Some categories are not eligible for affiliate commissions on Walmart, even if the products are sold on Walmart.com. The most common excluded categories are:

  • Firearms, ammunition, and related accessories
  • Alcohol (always restricted by state and shipping rules)
  • Tobacco and vaping products
  • Prescription pharmacy items
  • Gift cards (cannot be promoted for commission)

Check the latest list inside your Impact dashboard before building a niche around any of these.

Don't use mass coupon, cashback, or loyalty distribution patterns

Walmart's affiliate programme is for content publishers, not for coupon aggregators or cashback services. Building a store whose primary purpose is to give the customer a coupon code or a cashback rebate is generally prohibited. If you want to publish a deals section on a content store, that is fine; running a pure coupon site is not.

You can email your own subscribers (with proper unsubscribe and consent) but you cannot include Walmart affiliate links in unsolicited emails, purchased lists, or third-party email blasts. Spam complaints are the fastest way to get your account terminated.

Don't drive traffic from incentivised sources

Paying users to click your links, embedding your links in pop-ups or pop-unders, or hiding affiliate disclosure are all prohibited. Walmart's commission engine flags sudden spikes in traffic with low conversion rates and can block payouts.

Don't run misleading ads

Don't claim Walmart prices that aren't current, don't use fake "limited time" countdowns that aren't real, and don't suggest you have an exclusive relationship with Walmart that you don't have.

What happens if you break the rules

Walmart can do any of the following, with or without notice:

  • Withhold pending commissions for the affected period
  • Reverse already-paid commissions
  • Suspend your affiliate account temporarily
  • Terminate your account permanently and ban you from re-applying

The most common reasons we see for account termination are: using "walmart" in the domain, bidding on Walmart trademark keywords in paid search, or running a coupon-style site.

What to do if you receive a notice

If Walmart contacts you about a violation, respond quickly. Most issues can be resolved if you fix the problem promptly. Common fixes:

  • Rename your store and domain to remove "walmart"
  • Pause any ad campaigns that bid on Walmart trademarks
  • Remove restricted-category products from your store
  • Update your affiliate disclosure to be more visible

For account questions you can't resolve directly, log in to Impact Radius and use the in-platform messaging to contact the Walmart affiliate team.

If you don't yet have a Walmart affiliate account or need help adding it to your store, see:

🔗 How to open your Walmart affiliate account

🔗 How to add your affiliate tracking IDs

Did this answer your question? Thanks for the feedback There was a problem submitting your feedback. Please try again later.