Walmart's robots.txt has put several instructions for web crawlers into place. There are signs of the Disallow: directive for a large amount of the website's URLs, limiting the accessibility for potential web scraping techniques. URL paths such as user, cart, account, easyreorder, cp, checkout, and search are amongst the disallowed paths for all user agents that would be considered non-essential to the website's functionality. This implies that scraping certain important parts of Walmart's website – primarily the ones associated with user information, search results, and transaction details – could prove to be a challenge. However, there are certain exceptions to these restrictions. User agents that have been whitelisted are allowed access to otherwise disallowed paths. This means that if a web scraper is able to legally and ethically gain access to this set of well-behaved 'bots', they can still gather information from the important parts of Walmart's platform.

Walmart's terms and conditions clearly state that the use of any automated methods of data collection, which includes web scraping, is prohibited unless explicit permission is granted. For example, the text states "You agree and consent to not use any automated means of accessing or collecting information from the Site, including without limitation to, robots, spiders, scripts, or any scraping tools." This is a clear indication that Walmart does not allow unrestricted automated access to their website data.

However, Walmart outlines certain exceptions. For instance, access to some forms of data is allowed for partners, or those who have received explicit permission from Walmart. "You agree to not access the Site... unless expressly authorized by us and then only to access, download, or print for your personal use or to your customer(s) and potential customer(s) authorized and permitted use". Therefore, permission-based scraping seems to be the only viable method of data acquisition from their site.