Walmart is partnering with Web3 studio People of Crypto Lab (POClab) and Spatial for a new experience called ‘Cultureverse.‘ The gamified virtual world will celebrate the 50th year of Hip-Hop and the power of Black culture to change the world.
The immersive game launches in September on metaverse platform Spatial. It‘s aimed at honoring some of the early the pioneers of Hip-Hop, as well as exploring its evolution and cultural impact on fashion, art, and music.
Walmart is using its Black & Unlimited platform to showcase and empower Black creators, artists, and entrepreneurs. Other partners include Rock the Bells, one of Hip-Hop’s most influential concert series.
The Director of Brand Experiences and Strategic Partnerships at Walmart, Justin Breton, said that Cultureverse is an opportunity to bring Walmart’s “Black & Unlimited platform to the virtual world for the first time.” He added that they hope to inspire a “new generation of Black creators, entrepreneurs, and culture builders.”
People of Crypto Lab is a Web3 platform that merges culture and technology. The brand is also focused on empowering marginalized communities and recently launched the first Pride festival in the metaverse. The cofounder of POClab, Simone Berry, remarked that the company was excited to “inspire a new generation of Black creators” as well as ”foster an environment of innovation and inclusivity.”
Walmart Moves Into Web3 Slowly But Surely
The launch of Cultureverse by Walmart is big news for Web3 and exciting for Hip-Hop fans around the world. But this isn’t the first move we’ve seen from the retail giant in Web3. While Walmart’s march into Web3 has certainly been slower than many other companies, it remains steady. Now it appears like Walmart is picking it up a notch. Here are the top two stories about Walmart in Web3.
First, on September 26th, 2022, Walmart entered the Roblox metaverse with two experiences — Walmart Universe of Play and Walmart Land. The latter featured an obstacle course from beauty brands like Uoma by Sharon C and Bubble, as well a virtual dressing room. In October, a virtual concert featuring Madison Beer, Yungblood, and Kane Brown was held in the virtual space.
Next, nearly two years ago, news first broke that Walmart was moving in the direction of NFTs, the metaverse, and cryptocurrencies by filing several trademarks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The trademarks were filed during NFT craze of 2021 and revealed that Walmart wanted to create an NFT collection and potentially its own cryptocurrency.
Walmart is the world’s largest company in terms of revenue, with an estimated $570 billion in sales annually according to Fortune Global 500 lists in 2022. It is also the biggest private employer in the world, with over 2.2 million employees. So when a company that big moves into a new sector, it tends to do it slowly and in a more measured way than smaller, more agile companies.
Of course, it‘s going to take some time before we find out if Cultureverse is popular with Web3 and Hip-Hop fans. But the news certainly signals one thing: Walmart is still bullish on Web3.
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