A Walmart Code of Conduct warning is Walmart telling you that something in how you deal with customers, reviews or other sellers falls outside the Marketplace Seller Code of Conduct, while your account is still selling. That window is the most valuable moment in the whole enforcement process. Walmart’s Code states that failure to follow it may result in removal of listings, account suspension or termination, and Walmart reserves the right to suspend sellers pending investigation. A warning tells you where to look before either happens. Walmart last updated the Code on August 18, 2026 and the Customer Care Policy on August 10, 2026, so any message template written before those dates deserves a fresh read against the current text. The fix is to stop the practice at its source, prove it has stopped with a dated record and put a monthly review in place so the same message, insert or habit cannot return.

What a Walmart Code of Conduct Warning Covers

The Marketplace Seller Code of Conduct is one of the seller agreement policies every Walmart Marketplace seller accepts. It asks you to manage your business honestly and comply with all applicable Marketplace policies, rules and guidelines. It organizes that expectation into six commitments. Act fairly and with respect, provide accurate information, do not divert customers or transactions, communicate responsibly, meet the Seller Performance Standards and adhere to all Retailer Policies.

The accurate information commitment carries hard numbers. A display name must run 3 to 30 characters, a company description 20 to 1,000 characters, and either one can change only once every 90 days, with Walmart keeping a history of every change it reviews. The performance commitment names five metrics, Cancellation Rate, On-Time Delivery, Valid Tracking Rate, Seller Response Rate and Negative Feedback Rate. A conduct warning about a misleading display name or a description stuffed with a web address falls under the same Code as a warning about a buyer message.

A warning under the Code usually points to one of these commitments. The notice names the concern, and Walmart’s Suppression, pause, suspension and termination policy explains that Walmart notifies sellers through Seller Center and by email, with recommendations to help address the issue. You cannot unsubscribe from these communications, which tells you how seriously Walmart treats them.

What Walmart publishes about warnings

Walmart does not publish a numbered warning ladder for Code of Conduct violations. The Code names three outcomes, removal of listings, suspension and termination. The Packaging policy states that noncompliance may result in warnings, selling restrictions, suspension or termination. The Customer Care Policy describes intermediate steps such as canceling unshipped orders, refunding shipped orders, imposing category restrictions or suspending accounts for failure to respond to customers.

Each policy that feeds a conduct warning carries its own revision date, and the dates matter because Walmart edits these pages often. The table below lists the pages we re-checked this month with the figure or rule that most often decides a conduct case.

Read together, those policies show that Walmart can act at any level, and that a warning is not a guaranteed step. Treat any conduct notice as the only one you will receive. Sellers who wait for a second notice to act are the sellers we most often meet after suspension.

Why a warning is the best time to act

While the account is active, you can fix the practice, gather evidence and build the record without the pressure of held payments and non-discoverable listings. Once suspended, Walmart’s appeal guidance requires a written business plan of action, appeals are handled in the order received and submitting one does not guarantee reinstatement. Any supplier invoice you attach must be less than two months old, and a terminated account has no appeal at all, because Walmart states it is not required to give a reason for a termination. Work done during the warning becomes the core of that plan if it is ever needed, and in most cases it removes the need for one.

Conduct That Triggers Warnings

The Code’s examples of unfair activity are the list most warnings trace back to. Walmart states the list is not exhaustive. These are the categories we see most often at the warning stage.

Off-platform contact and marketing

The Code bars initiating unsolicited contact with a customer and misusing customer personal information, which includes sending unsolicited messages by text, marketing email, letter or phone call. A seller who adds Walmart buyers to an email list, texts a shipping update from a personal number or mails a postcard offer has used customer data outside Walmart policy. These are among the easiest warnings to earn, because the tools that do it run quietly in the background.

Diverting customers

Any attempt to direct customers to external websites, platforms or storefronts is prohibited. Walmart names promotional materials in customer communication or order fulfillment, and hyperlinks, URLs or link shorteners pointing to your own site, social pages or other marketplaces. An insert with your web address is enough.

Review influence

The Code bars attempting to influence or inflate your reviews and ratings and attempting to influence or damage another seller’s. Walmart’s Marketplace Review Policy adds that you may not solicit reviews directly from customers, including requests for honest feedback, condition refunds or returns on a review or request reviews from employees, friends or family. The same policy bans review rings, brushing, undisclosed in-package incentives and any pressure on a buyer to change or remove a review. Federal law reaches the same conduct. Since 16 CFR 465.4 took effect under the FTC rule published at 89 FR 68077 on August 22, 2024, offering compensation for a review that expresses a particular sentiment is itself an unfair or deceptive practice.

Misleading information and post-sale changes

Providing misleading or inaccurate item information, raising the retail price after an order is completed, setting unfair shipping costs against the Pricing rules and sending a materially different item, with no substitutions, are all listed. A seller who substitutes a similar item to save an order has created a conduct issue even when the customer seems satisfied.

Tone and conduct toward Walmart and other sellers

Name-calling, harassment, threats, profanity and attempts to override a policy or overturn an account decision are listed, along with failing to act in good faith when Walmart associates give guidance. A heated exchange with Seller Support after a listing removal can draw its own warning on top of the original issue.

Related guides include Walmart Seller Center Security Setup to Prevent Takeovers and Walmart Compliant Drop Shipping Setup for Marketplace Sellers.

When a conduct notice has already cost you listings or selling time, our Walmart suspension team reads the exact wording, traces the template, person or tool behind it and builds the corrective log with you.

Customer Contact Rules

Most warnings involve customer contact, so the Customer Care Policy deserves a careful read. It sets the standard for every message you send and receive.

What you must do

• Respond to customer and Walmart Customer Care inquiries with a high-quality response within 48 hours of receipt, including weekends and days off.
• Maintain a Seller Response Rate above 95 percent.
• Respond to a Better Business Bureau or Attorney General complaint within the first hour of receipt.
• Provide customer support in English for US transactions, represent yourself as a separate entity from Walmart.com and provide accurate contact information.

What you must not do

• Include marketing or promotional materials, or links to any website other than Walmart.com.
• Initiate contact by phone or any method outside the Seller Center Inbox. If a customer calls you using the information on Walmart’s platform, you may help.
• Send unsolicited texts, emails or calls, including marketing.
• Use advertisements in greetings or voicemail, Google Voice or other internet telephone numbers, or private residential numbers.
• Send automated replies that fail to address the inquiry, require multiple follow-ups or redirect without a resolution timeline.
• Use abusive or threatening language, haggle to avoid a return or refund or use the term Walmart in your customer service email address.

Walmart also notes that it emails customers about order status at every stage, so you do not need to send extra order or product status updates unless the customer asks. That single point removes the reason most sellers give for an off-platform shipping text.

Templates are where warnings start

In the warning cases we review, the problem usually sits in a template. A thank-you message that ends with “visit our store” and a link. A shipping confirmation that asks for a review. A return reply that offers a partial refund if the customer keeps the item. Each looks harmless and each runs on every order. The reviewer’s first question, and ours, is whether the conduct came from a template, a person or a tool.

• Template. The same text went to many customers. Rewrite it, lock it and keep the before and after versions.
• Person. One staff member or contractor improvised. Retrain, restrict permissions and review their messages.
• Tool. An app or automation pulled Walmart order data and sent messages. Disconnect it and revoke its access.

Business Models and Regional Rules That Shape the Fix

The fix depends on why the conduct made sense to your business. Three models account for most warnings.

Sellers who move buyers to their own website

Brands with their own store reuse packaging inserts, thank-you cards and email flows that drive repeat purchases on their site. On Walmart every one of those is diversion. Build a Walmart-only pack-out with no URLs, QR codes, social handles or offers, and remove Walmart order data from any marketing platform. Keep the manufacturer’s manuals and safety information.

Sellers who solicit reviews

Review request emails and incentive cards are standard on some channels. On Walmart they violate the Review Policy. Turn off the automation, pull the cards and use Walmart’s review programs or an approved syndication or sampling provider. Respond to existing reviews through the review response feature in Seller Center.

Sellers in competitive categories

Warnings for harming other sellers come from false reports, negative reviews placed by staff or test orders meant to generate complaints. File reports only with a valid basis and keep the evidence you relied on. Make it a written rule that no one connected to your business reviews any listing in your category.

Stores run by contractors and agencies

Many Walmart stores are run day to day by virtual assistants, outsourced customer service teams or marketing agencies. The person typing the message often learned their habits on another channel where a follow-up call or a review request is routine. Walmart treats that message as yours. Put Walmart’s rules into the contract or statement of work, require each contractor to use an individual login, limit their permissions to the tasks they perform and review their messages for the first two weeks and monthly after that. If an agency manages listings, confirm in writing that it uses no review program outside Walmart’s approved routes.

Composite examples of warnings we see

The examples below are composites built from common patterns. They are not individual client cases.

• The helpful text. A seller’s shipping software sends an SMS with tracking to every buyer whose phone number appears on the order. The seller sees good service. Walmart sees unsolicited contact using customer data. The fix is to switch off SMS for Walmart orders and rely on Walmart’s own order emails.
• The warranty card. A brand includes a card asking buyers to register their product on the brand website for an extended warranty and a discount code. The card is diversion. The fix is a Walmart-only pack-out and warranty terms stated within the listing under Walmart’s rules.
• The return negotiation. A customer service agent offers a buyer 30 percent back to keep a product instead of returning it. Walmart’s Customer Care Policy prohibits haggling to avoid a return or refund. The fix is a written return script and agent retraining.
• The angry ticket. After a listing removal, an owner sends Seller Support a series of messages accusing Walmart of bias. The Code lists attempting to overturn a decision and failing to act in good faith with associates. The fix is a single, factual reply and a rule that only one designated person communicates with Walmart.

Regional rules

Walmart operates separate marketplaces in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Chile, and the Code’s own display name rules require English in the US, English or French in Canada, English or Spanish in Mexico and Spanish in Chile. Walmart Marketplace Canada publishes Seller Suspension and Termination Principles that prohibit diverting Walmart.ca customers, prohibit hyperlinks, URLs or website titles in listing content and seller emails and prohibit unsolicited email or phone communication including marketing. That Canadian page, last updated October 31, 2024, also holds sellers to an Order Defect Rate at or below 15.5 percent, so a Canadian seller answering a conduct warning should check that figure in the same pass.

Your obligations to Walmart come from contract, through the Comprehensive Walmart Marketplace Retailer Agreement and the Retailer Policies. Local law explains why these rules exist and raises the stakes when a warning is ignored. The table summarizes the statutes we check for each Walmart storefront, and a lawyer licensed in your market should confirm how they apply to your facts.

Fixing the Practice

A warning closes when the practice is gone and you can prove it. Our method follows the same structure we would use in a suspension appeal, so the work is ready if Walmart escalates. The position is that your conduct is now compliant, and the concern traces to a narrow cause that is closed.

Step 1. Stop the conduct at the source

Remove the template text, pull the inserts from the packing station, disconnect the tool or remove the person’s access. Do this the day the notice arrives. If inserts are pre-printed, quarantine the stock so no one uses it by mistake.

Step 2. Audit the scope

Search every saved reply, automation and template for links, offers, review requests and other-marketplace references. Read a sample of sent messages for the last 90 days. Photograph a packed order. Check listing descriptions and your About Seller page for URLs or contact details. Record how many items you reviewed and what you found.

Step 3. Name the root cause

Write one paragraph that names the act, the dates, the order or message IDs and the source. Do not blame the customer, a contractor or Walmart’s systems. If a contractor sent the message, the cause is that the store let an untrained contractor message customers, and the fix covers that gap.

Step 4. Re-attest to the Code

Have everyone with account access read the Code of Conduct, Customer Care Policy and Review Policy and sign a dated attestation. This is evidence that the people who caused the issue now know the standard.

Step 5. Install the preventive control

Write a short procedure with an owner, a checkpoint and an audit. For example, only approved templates may be used, new templates need written sign-off against the Code, no tool may access Walmart order data without approval and a monthly sample of messages and packed orders is reviewed and logged.

Step 6. Respond if the notice asks for it

If the notice requests a reply or an action, complete it through the route the notice names. Keep the reply short and factual, covering what happened, what you changed and how you prevent it. Do not argue the warning or threaten anything.

A good reply has four short paragraphs. The first names the notice and confirms you have reviewed it. The second states the cause in one or two sentences with dates and IDs. The third lists the corrective actions already taken, with counts. The fourth describes the control that now runs and who owns it. Attach or reference the evidence only if the notice asks for it, and keep the rest in your log so it is ready if Walmart follows up.

Step 7. Check the rest of the account

A conduct warning is a signal that Walmart is looking at the account. Use it to check the areas reviewers often look at next, including your display name and company description, your About Seller page, listing descriptions for URLs or contact details, your Seller Performance Standards metrics on the Performance dashboard, including On-Time Delivery at 90 percent or higher and Valid Tracking Rate at 99 percent or greater under the Shipping and fulfillment policy, and any open customer inquiries older than 48 hours. Fixing a second issue before it is cited is far easier than answering two notices at once.

First warning compared with repeat conduct

A first, contained issue with a clean log behind it is the best position a seller can be in. A second notice for the same conduct tells Walmart the first fix did not hold, and the Code allows Walmart to move to suspension or termination at its discretion. If the account has already been suspended, our parent guide on responding to a Walmart Seller Code of Conduct violation covers the full plan of action, and our guide on a suspended Walmart Marketplace account explains the appeal route. If Walmart has terminated the account, read what remains after a Code of Conduct termination and a terminated Walmart Marketplace account.

What the warning period protects

Suspension puts payments on hold, restricts Seller Center access and makes listings non-discoverable. Walmart’s Final settlement payout policy adds that on suspension or termination Walmart may hold funds and may permanently withhold payouts for deceptive activity or repeated policy violations. Even a clean closure leaves money waiting, because the final payout generally arrives around 180 days after the account closes. Every day spent fixing the practice during the warning protects revenue that would otherwise be frozen.

Training and Message Review

The prevention lesson for a conduct warning is a monthly review of customer message templates against the Code. Conduct issues return when templates drift, new staff improvise or a new app is connected without review.

Monthly template review

Once a month, open every saved reply and automated message and check it for three things, a link, offer or reference to any site other than Walmart.com, a request for a review or feedback, and any pressure on a return or refund. Anything that fails one of those checks is removed the same day. Record the date, the templates reviewed and any change in the log.

Message sampling

Pull a sample of sent messages from each person who answers customers. Read for tone, links, off-platform contact and promises the business cannot keep. Short, accurate and polite is the standard Walmart sets in the Customer Care Policy.

Packing station check

Photograph the contents of a packed Walmart order every month. Confirm there is no insert, coupon, survey, review request or other marketplace reference. Walmart’s Shipping and fulfillment policy separately prohibits customer surveys, review requests, promotional offers and coupons in packages, so this check covers two policies at once. If suppliers ship for you, review our guide on the Walmart drop shipping policy, because supplier paperwork often carries other branding.

Access and tool review

List every Seller Center user and every connected app. Remove anyone who no longer needs access and any tool that can message customers or read order data without approval. Shared logins and forgotten integrations are a common source of conduct issues and a security risk, as our guide on Walmart seller account takeover explains.

Training new people

Anyone new, including contractors and agencies, reads the Code, the Customer Care Policy and the Review Policy, signs the attestation and has their first two weeks of messages reviewed. Walmart’s Review Policy expects everyone who manages your listings to understand and follow its rules, and the Code holds the account responsible for activity on it.

Sellers who keep this routine rarely see a second warning, and when one arrives, the answer is already written in the log.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Walmart Code of Conduct prohibit?

It prohibits deceptive conduct, manipulating customers or reviews, contacting customers for off-platform sales and harming other sellers. The Code also bars misleading item information, post-order price increases, abusive communication, anticompetitive arrangements with other sellers and account switching or brokering.

What happens after a warning?

Further violations can lead to suspension or termination. Walmart does not publish a fixed number of warnings, and the Code allows removal of listings, suspension or termination at Walmart’s discretion. Fixing the practice during the warning is the best protection.

Can I contact Walmart customers outside Walmart?

Not outside Walmart policies. You must communicate through the Seller Center Inbox and only as needed to complete an order or provide service. Unsolicited texts, emails, letters and calls, including marketing, are prohibited, though you may help a customer who calls you using the information on Walmart’s platform.

Can I ask for reviews?

Not in ways that influence or manipulate reviews, and Walmart’s Review Policy bars soliciting reviews directly from customers at all. Use Walmart’s review programs or an approved syndication or sampling provider, and never offer money, discounts, free product or anything else of value in exchange for a review.

How do I respond to a warning?

Stop the conduct and record the fix. Identify whether a template, person or tool caused it, audit related messages and inserts, have staff re-attest to the Code and keep a dated corrective log. Reply through the route the notice names if it asks for a response.

Get Help With a Walmart Code of Conduct Warning

Most warnings can be closed with the routine above. If a warning has already turned into a suspension, the plan of action has to show governance over every customer touchpoint, including staff, contractors and connected tools. We help sellers document that governance clearly and completely.

See our Walmart suspension and reinstatement service, submit your case for an assessment, or book a consultation to review your templates and inserts while the account is still active.

Sellers who also list on other channels can compare how each one handles conduct cases on our marketplace suspension services hub.

Sources

1. Walmart Marketplace Learn: Marketplace Seller Code of Conduct
2. Walmart Marketplace Learn: Customer Care Policy
3. Walmart Marketplace Learn: Marketplace Review Policy
4. Walmart Marketplace Learn: Suppression, pause, suspension and termination policy
5. Walmart Marketplace Learn: Appeal an account suspension or suppression
6. Walmart Marketplace Learn: Packaging policy
7. Walmart Marketplace Learn: Shipping and fulfillment policy
8. Walmart Marketplace Learn: Final settlement payout policy
9. Walmart Marketplace Canada: Seller Suspension and Termination Principles
10. GovInfo: 15 U.S.C. 45, Unfair methods of competition unlawful
11. eCFR: 16 CFR Part 465, Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials
12. eCFR: 16 CFR 1.98, Adjustment of civil monetary penalty amounts
13. Justice Laws Website: Competition Act, section 74.01
14. Cámara de Diputados: Ley Federal de Protección al Consumidor