Walmart Realm goes back to school with new shopping experience pitched at dorm room inspiration
Walmart’s immersive virtual shopping platform, Realm, has graduated from an off-site pilot to an on-site experience.
In a LinkedIn post, Justin Breton, Head of Partnerships, Content & Emerging Experiences at Walmart, said: “This evolution brings immersive commerce directly into the shopping journey, making the experience feel more familiar to shoppers while preserving the joy of discovery that made Walmart Realm unique from the start.”
Back to school season, he added, felt like the perfect moment to introduce it, helping customers explore dorm room inspiration from social trends while shopping products at everyday low prices. This season's rooms include: Dopamine Dorm - a little whimsy, a lot of personality; Game Zone - fully equipped for finals and fun; Holistic Haven - a cozy sanctuary all you you; Midnight Archive - BYOB (Bring Your Own Book); Canopy Cottage - fresh nature inspired style.
Each room also features Walmart+, including access to its streaming partners as a benefit. And for a limited time, college students can save 50% on membership.
Breton added: “We also partnered with Walmart Connect to spotlight must have back to school essentials, such as Tide PODS, in select rooms, creating even more opportunities for customers to discover products in context. Proud of the team for continuing to evolve how inspiration and commerce come together and for pushing us (and the industry) to create shopping experiences that are as engaging as they are useful.”
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
Immersive experiences will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
