Walmart’s Justin Breton talks key takeaways from US retail giant’s real-world commerce launch on Roblox

Justin Breton, Director of Brand Experiences & Strategic Partnerships at Walmart, has taken to social media to share three things he’s heard from the retailer’s community and the industry following a real-world commerce launch on Roblox last week.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: “I ordered the tumbler and got it the next day! It came so fast.” – We’re instilling Walmart as a reliable digital destination with fast delivery.”

He added: “Someone asked where I got this bag. I told them I bought it from Walmart on Roblox.” – We’re helping establish a new commerce platform.”

“This will create money making opportunities for creators.” – While we’re still testing, people already see the long-term potential.”

Breton concluded: “There’s so much more to come from our team this year, so keep your eyes peeled for what’s next. And something’s coming soon.”

Walmart Discovered

As a result of the aforementioned launch on Roblox, Walmart is now able to sell physical goods directly to users inside the platform.

Walmart Discovered users will be able to have real-life items shipped directly to their doorsteps.

They will be greeted with a new storefront showcasing virtual twins of select items sold at physical Walmart stores. The feature will be gated specifically to users aged 13 or older in the United States only.

“There is a traditional sort of checkout flow where you put your name, your address and your credit card information, and that’s all powered by a Walmart API that handles all of the information super securely - it’s very safe,” Breton told Digiday.

“And once you hit checkout, you’ll get your confirmation email from Walmart. All of that is handled by us on the back end, the user will then get their item in the mail, but the virtual twin is granted immediately back on Roblox.”

A pilot will run through the month of May, during which time Roblox will not receive a cut of item sales, with all revenues going directly to Walmart. The short-term aim here is to gauge users’ willingness to purchase physical goods on the platform.

“We are excited to start testing real-world commerce as a key step towards enabling it in the future for our community of creators and brands,” said Roblox VP of Economy Enrico D’Angelo.

“Shopping for virtual items is already an important element of how people engage and express themselves on Roblox daily, so our goal is to gather feedback, test the technology and learn what resonates with Gen Z customers the most when it comes to shopping for physical items.”