Walmart ($WMT) is the world's largest company by revenue, at least according to Fortune Global 500 2018. The chain of 11,718 stores of various iterations pulls in more than $500 billion. It's also the largest private employer in the world with more than 2.3 million people collecting paychecks from the Walton empire.
Given Walmart's ubiquity, it's interesting to see what dominates its sales charts. We collect sales-rank data from Walmart's public e-commerce API across multiple product categories. By averaging sales-rank data for each category and then counting the number of days each product remained on Walmart's top-sellers list, we arrive at a great estimation of what Walmart customers are buying.
So with that, we present to you the top-sellers at Walmart for July 2018. Each of the 21 items below ranked #1 in their respecitve categories for virtually the entire month (29 days of API data collecting). In short, they're the dominant products.
[Members can see the full Best Buy sales rank dataset here]
Name |
Category |
Category Rank (Average) |
Name (Count) |
---|---|---|---|
Gemmy LightShow LED Shooting Star Icicle Christmas Lights, 10 Count White, 10.5' Long |
Party & Occasions |
1.00 |
29 |
Best Choice Products Electric Guitar Kids 30" Pink Guitar With Amp + Case + Strap and More New |
Musical Instruments |
1.00 |
29 |
Mainstays Value Bath Towel Collection |
Home |
1.00 |
28 |
Q-tips Cotton Swabs, 500 ct |
Beauty |
1.00 |
29 |
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Activision, PlayStation 4, 047875878556 |
Video Games |
1.00 |
29 |
M&M'S Variety Pack Chocolate Candy Singles Size 30.58-Ounce 18-Count Box |
Food |
1.00 |
20 |
Disney Bedtime Favorites |
Books |
1.00 |
29 |
DreamWorks' Trolls (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (CD) |
Music on CD or Vinyl |
1.00 |
29 |
Purina Beneful Originals With Real Beef Adult Dry Dog Food - 3.5 lb. Bag |
Pets |
1.00 |
29 |
Moana (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD) |
Movies & TV Shows |
1.00 |
29 |
New Bluetiful Crayola Classic Crayon 24 count |
Seasonal |
1.00 |
29 |
Ozark Trail Promo Watch |
Jewelry |
1.00 |
29 |
Parent's Choice Fragrance Free Baby Wipes (Choose Your Count) |
Baby |
1.00 |
29 |
Premier Protein Shake, Caramel, 30g Protein, 4 Ct |
Health |
1.00 |
29 |
Duracell 100L Spotlight |
Patio & Garden |
1.00 |
29 |
Notebook, College Ruled, 70 Sheet, Colors May Vary |
Walmart for Business |
1.00 |
29 |
Barska Starwatcher 60050 Refractor Telescope |
Industrial & Scientific |
1.00 |
29 |
Tide Simply Clean and Fresh Refreshing Breeze Liquid Laundry Detergent 89 Loads, 138 Fl Oz |
Household Essentials |
1.00 |
29 |
Case-It Open Tab 2-Inch Binder, Assorted Colors |
Office |
1.00 |
29 |
Torin Jack Stands (Weight capacity: 2 Tons) |
Auto & Tires |
1.00 |
29 |
As you can see, much of the list is forgettable, typical items, like laundry detergent, batteries, and Q-tips. But among the best-sellers are a few head-scratchers that have us asking, "Really? Enough people bought this toy pink guitar to send it to the top of Walmart's 'Musical Instruments' category?"
To be fair to the "Best Choice Products Kids Electric Musical Guitar Play Set", it does look like a good time, especially in pink, the item's best-selling version. Complete with an amplifier and microphone, this $37.99 is likely at the top of its category because of the price. If reviews are any indication, it's not a wonderful product as it currently sits at just 2.9 out of 5 stars. According to several reviewers, the included amp simply doesn't work for long.
And then there are the "Gemmy LightShow LED Shooting Star Icicle Christmas Lights" that spent all 29 recorded days of July — the dead of summer — at the number-one spot for the entire "Party & Occasions" category. Maybe it was the price, but at $44.81 it can't be that. Perhaps shoppers simply needed lights for summer parties. But, in this case, these lights are literally icicles — an unusual choice for a July 4 to do.
Whatever it is that makes these LED, animated lights a star, they dominated in July.