Walmart Moves into Metaverse

Walmart, the biggest US retailer, has unveiled two immersive experiences on Roblox’s virtual platform. Walmart Land will feature fashion, beauty and entertainment items, while Walmart’s Universe of Play will showcase toy.

Walmart Land will offer a virtual store where Roblox users can use badges and coins earned on the platform to buy merchandise for their avatars. Initially, the project will feature an experience similar to a music festival along with a fashion-oriented “House of Style” that includes a virtual dressing room and an oversized cosmetics obstacle course.

Universe of Play, in its turn, is designed to let Roblox users explore toy worlds and earn coins for virtual goods. It will offer games featuring products and characters from Jurassic World, Paw Patrol and other entertainment brands.

Roblox has a community of more than 52 million daily users, and many of them are younger people, who are particularly valuable targets for corporate powerhouses, like Nike or VF who have already tried to attract consumers’ attention via virtual universes, which mix social media and e-commerce.

This is another step for us in reaching our customers in unexpected ways,

William White, Walmart’s chief marketing officer, told Bloomberg.