retailer data
What Is Walmart Retail Link? A Reporting Guide
Understand how Retail Link connects suppliers to Walmart resources and which source details to keep with every reporting export.
Walmart Retail Link connects authorized users to Walmart supplier resources and applications. When you use one of those applications for reporting, record its name and the export you used. Include the supplier scope, metric definition, detail represented by each row, period, filters, and refresh time so another analyst can reproduce the number.
Walmart’s public Supplier Development page directs suppliers to create a Retail Link account and use those credentials to enter Supplier Academy. A 2026 Walmart supply-chain guide also directs suppliers to named applications through Retail Link and requires a valid Retail Link ID tied to the supplier number for one onboarding workflow. Retail Link provides access; the application you use determines the source of your report.
Why “Retail Link data” is not a complete source label
A reviewer needs more than the Retail Link name to check a weekly report:
- Which application or export produced the number?
- Which supplier number, item set, stores, or channels were included?
- Is the number at item-store-day, item-store-week, or another grain?
- Which Walmart week or calendar dates does it cover?
- Which filters and metric definition were used?
- When was the source refreshed and when was it exported?
When two reports disagree, compare those details first. A changed filter, mismatched period, different row detail, partial refresh, or revised source can explain the difference even when business performance is unchanged.
Use a source-to-decision record
For every recurring input, keep the following source details beside the report. TrueShelf suggests this format; Walmart does not require it.
| Field | What to record | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Business question | The decision the analysis must support | Prevents unrelated data from taking over the review |
| Application or export | The specific source, not merely “Retail Link” | Makes the result reproducible |
| Supplier and item scope | Supplier number, brands, departments, items, stores, or channels included | Exposes scope differences |
| Grain | The lowest level represented by one row | Prevents invalid joins and averages |
| Period | Walmart week, date range, and comparison period | Keeps unlike periods from being compared |
| Metric definition | Numerator, denominator, units, inclusions, and exclusions | Separates label matches from definition matches |
| Filters | Every active restriction or saved-view choice | Explains why totals differ |
| Refresh and export time | Source freshness and extraction timestamp | Distinguishes stale evidence from movement |
| Control total | A total checked before transformations | Detects dropped or duplicated rows |
| Decision and owner | Action, accountable person, and follow-up date | Connects evidence to work |
Save the record with the dataset or recurring report. A data dictionary describes the fields; you also need the filters and refresh time for the run you used.
Where Retail Link fits beside Supplier Academy and Scintilla
Walmart’s public pages describe how these services relate, with some access details left to supplier-specific documentation.
Supplier Academy uses Retail Link credentials, according to Walmart’s Supplier Development page. That makes Retail Link part of the access path for training and supplier resources.
Scintilla is the name for Walmart’s first-party data products formerly called Walmart Luminate. Walmart announced the coming name change in October 2024 and confirmed it in February 2025. Retail Link and Scintilla are separate names. Check your organization’s access before assuming a Retail Link account includes a particular Scintilla product.
Record the exact application and output used for the analysis. Check the report’s definition, access permissions, and refresh time in that source.
A pre-analysis checklist for exported supplier data
Before combining an export with a planning file, shipment record, forecast, or internal hierarchy, run these checks.
1. Identify the question and decision
Write the decision in one sentence. “Review sales” is too broad. “Decide whether the decline is concentrated enough to warrant item-store follow-up” sets a usable scope.
2. Capture the source exactly
Record the application, report or export name, supplier scope, export timestamp, and the person or controlled process that produced it. Preserve the untouched source file when policy permits.
3. Lock the calendar and grain
State the Walmart week or exact dates and identify what one row represents. Do not join daily data directly to weekly data or item-level data to item-store data without an explicit transformation.
If a report uses Walmart fiscal periods, the Walmart calendar can help teams align dates before comparison.
4. Write down the definition and filters
Two columns with the same label may differ in units, inclusions, returns treatment, channel scope, or aggregation. Capture the definition available to the authorized user and list active filters rather than relying on memory.
5. Reconcile before interpreting
Compare row counts, distinct item and store counts, date boundaries, and control totals against the source. Investigate unexplained gaps before drawing conclusions about performance.
6. Separate observation from explanation
“Sales declined in these items and stores” is an observation. “Availability caused the decline” is a causal explanation requiring additional evidence. Label hypotheses and unknowns until the supporting signals have been checked.
7. Preserve the decision trail
Record what changed, what evidence supported the conclusion, what remains uncertain, who owns the next action, and when the evidence will be refreshed.
What this approach prevents
Keeping source details with the decision helps you detect:
- comparing different Walmart periods as though they match;
- combining measures at incompatible grains;
- treating an old export as current;
- losing the filters behind a headline number;
- presenting a hypothesis as an observed fact;
- repeating a result that another analyst cannot reproduce.
TrueShelf is designed to organize recurring retailer data with its definitions, source history, refresh times, and exceptions available beside the analysis. It also keeps gaps in the evidence visible. Explore the platform for the product overview.
Frequently asked questions
Is Retail Link one report?
Walmart’s public materials point users through Retail Link to distinct supplier resources and applications. Treat the specific application or export as the reporting source rather than assuming Retail Link represents one universal report.
Is Retail Link the same as Scintilla?
The public sources discussed here do not establish that Retail Link and Scintilla are the same service. Scintilla is Walmart Data Ventures’ name for the data products formerly called Walmart Luminate. Retail Link connects users to supplier resources and applications. Check current authorized documentation for your organization’s access to each service.
What should I save with a Retail Link export?
At minimum, save the application or export name, supplier and item scope, grain, period, metric definition, filters, refresh time, export time, and a control total. Also record the decision the analysis supports.
Can TrueShelf access Retail Link for a supplier?
TrueShelf does not promise Retail Link access in this article. Its work concerns organizing recurring retailer data and preserving the source details needed to check the analysis.