Redesigning the shopping experience: Walmart explores ‘limitless potential’ of virtual commerce

Earlier this year, Walmart teamed up with game developer FUN-GI on House Flip, a mobile game available on iOS and Android that allows players to renovate and sell virtual homes.

It initially started with the ability for players to virtually test certain Glidden paint colours sold at Walmart, generating more than 12 million impressions for that brand over the first six months.

This month, the retailer will introduce the ability to purchase physical items contextually and natively in the game - either the same ones people use to decorate their virtual house or ones they discover while playing the game - using their Walmart account without leaving the virtual world. 

It is also adding new décor items from Mainstays and Better Homes and Gardens in the Walmart in-game landmark that players can browse and purchase.

Walmart has also entered the virtual fashion segment with its clothing brand Scoop, taking over the fashion space, Runway Z, within the mobile virtual world Zepeto.

“We see the growth and expansion of increasingly immersive virtual worlds as not only a chance to develop new ways to meet and engage with our customers, but also an opportunity to experiment with a new type of commerce, where customers can not only continue buying virtual goods, like clothing for their avatar, but now their real world counterpart,” says Thomas Kang, VP & General Manager, Metaverse Commerce, Store No. 8.

“Given that almost 90% of the US population lives within 10 miles of a Walmart store, we also have an opportunity to connect their physical and virtual lives in a way that only Walmart can. Over the next year, you’ll see us test a variety of experiences in virtual worlds that connect to commerce at stores and vice versa. In fact, we’ve already begun.”

He concludes: “With a projected three billion participants spanning all geographies and demographics, virtual worlds and games represent the fastest growing category of entertainment, and they present us with the opportunity to redesign the shopping experience and invent the future of retail.”

“We believe in building commerce in virtual worlds and experiences for everyone, accessible via any device, that align with our digital values and meet the needs of all our customers. We see limitless potential with this emerging technology, and we’re excited to explore its possibilities.”