Walmart said its marketplace is central to efforts to expand general merchandise, with CFO John David Rainey saying the business is growing about 20% and acting as the main vehicle for that strategy. He said categories including home, hardlines and fashion are growing >30%, while seller numbers during the holiday season were 3X higher than a year earlier. Walmart said its marketplace now offers 500 million SKUs and that it has secured about half of 300 “must-have” brands. (Walmart)