How Walmart's Negative Feedback Rate is actually calculated

Walmart's definition counts the rate against orders, so the fewer orders you have, the fewer bad ratings you can absorb.

What the metric actually measures

The definition's denominator is your Marketplace orders. Walmart doesn't say whether orders nobody rated count. The arithmetic below counts them. The WFS quote further down says the metric applies to orders "that have received customer reviews", which could also mean only rated orders count, and then the table below wouldn't hold.

The threshold is less than or equal to, so exactly 2.0% meets the standard. There's no finer tier.

The arithmetic nobody runs for you

Counting every order, here's how many bad ratings 2% allows at four order counts:

Say one buyer in a hundred leaves a 1-star. A 1,000-order seller sits around 1%, while a 50-order seller hits 4% after two unlucky orders. With the same product quality, the smaller seller is more likely to cross the line.

The window runs from the order date, not the rating date

Walmart's performance standards page words it the same way: "The rate of orders sold in the past 60 days that receive a one- or two-star customer rating." Both define the window by order date. Amazon's Negative Feedback Rate works the same way, which is why an Amazon seller's public feedback percentage and their ODR can disagree.

Peak season is where this gap shows most. Your window fills with orders too new to have been rated, which holds the rate down. After the peak, fewer new orders come in while ratings on the peak orders keep arriving, and those orders are still in the window, so the rate climbs over the following weeks to what the peak orders actually earned. Sixty days after they were placed, they leave the window along with their ratings.

Walmart doesn't describe this. To see it on your own account, write down your rate once a week starting the day the peak ends.

Two details that decide which ratings count

Generally in the second quote is Walmart's word. Delivery complaints on WFS orders are usually excluded, but there's no guarantee for any particular order.

If one buyer rates both the item and the seller badly, Walmart takes the lower rating. The two aren't averaged.

What crossing 2% actually costs

Walmart lists Negative Feedback Rate alongside seven other standards, and the stated consequence covers all eight:

The other seven: Cancellation Rate at or below 2%, On-Time Delivery at or above 90%, Valid Tracking at or above 99%, Seller Response Rate at or above 95%, Return Rate at or below 6% (9% for Resold inventory), Item Not Received at or below 2%, and Late Shipment at or below 5%.

Suspension, suppression and termination have different appeal rules:

What you can and can't do about it

The part you can move, on either marketplace

The rate is a ratio, and the side you can actually move is the numerator. On Walmart as on Amazon, whether a buyer can reach you the moment something goes wrong tends to decide whether it ends as a replacement or as a line on your public rating.

Aftermesh is what you use to do this. You build a buyer page and it gives you the entry QR code. Buyers scan it to reach the page, and it leans on no marketplace account system, so the same card works in a Walmart shipment and an Amazon one.

Whatever a buyer sends back, you can see it in your dashboard. You can look at the page a buyer scans into.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good Negative Feedback Rate on Walmart?

Anything up to and including 2.0% passes. That's the only line Walmart draws, with no grading below it.

How is Walmart's Negative Feedback Rate calculated?

Walmart defines it as the percentage of your Marketplace orders that have received a one- or two-star rating within the last 60 days. In that definition the denominator is your order count, not your rating count. Walmart doesn't say separately whether orders that were never rated are included.

How many bad ratings can I get before crossing 2%?

It depends on your order count for the 60-day window. If every order counts in the denominator, you can absorb 1 at 50 orders, 4 at 200, 10 at 500 and 20 at 1,000, and one more crosses the line. Walmart doesn't publish these figures.

Does the 60-day window run from the order date or the rating date?

From the order date. Walmart states that the rate only tracks ratings for orders placed within the past 60 days, the same basis Amazon uses for its Negative Feedback Rate. So most orders from the last few weeks of the window haven't reached the point where buyers rate them yet.

Do WFS orders count toward my Negative Feedback Rate?

Yes, but only ratings due to seller-related issues, such as item quality or missing components. Feedback related to delivery or fulfillment is generally excluded. That word is Walmart's, and it leaves room for judgment.

What happens if my Negative Feedback Rate goes above 2%?

Walmart's performance standards page states that failure to meet the standards may result in suppression, suspension or termination of your account. The first two can be appealed with a business plan of action; termination can't, and your listings are deactivated.

Why did my Negative Feedback Rate get worse after a strong quarter?

During the peak, much of your window was orders too new to have been rated, which held the rate down. After the peak, fewer new orders come in while ratings on the peak orders keep arriving, so the rate rises until those orders are 60 days old and leave the window along with their ratings. Walmart doesn't describe this.

Related: How to remove negative seller feedback on Amazon | How to deal with negative reviews on Amazon | Amazon review and insert card rules: the official wording, sourced | What are bad reviews costing you? (free calculator)