Walmart, the world’s largest retail store, just announced the launch of Walmart Realm, a new 3D e-commerce platform that allows people to purchase digital doubles of select products that are available at real-life Walmart stores.
The virtual bazaar is aimed at attracting younger customers and includes an underwater universe, an outer space world, and a frontier that blends the Wild West with Gothic vibes. It is the latest sign that Walmart, who first made Web3 news back in January 2022 when it applied for seven NFT and crypto related trademarks, remains bullish on the metaverse.
Currently, there are around one hundred fashion, beauty, and home goods available on Walmart Realm, which is accessible via mobile or desktop. The products were curated by a team of influencers including Malia Fowler, Nava Rose, Makenzie, and Mai Pham. Over the next couple of weeks, they’ll be posting content related to Walmart Realm to their more than 11 million combined TikTok followers.
Besides exploring the fun virtual world, shoppers will have the chance to compete in mini-games to win prices. Also, visitors to Walmart Realm receive tokens that can be used for rewards and coupons. The idea is to create an immersive, entertaining space that will incentivize shoppers to linger and browse similar to the way people do in brick-and-mortar stores.
According to Walmart’s director of brand experiences and strategic partnerships, Justin Breton, the company is experimenting and learning about “immersive commerce” because it believes it’s “going to be the future of commerce.” He added that he didn’t think it would replace apps or websites, but instead be “complementary” to them.
Top Retailers Are Bullish on Web3
The launch of Walmart’s new virtual world is big news for the space. But this isn’t the first time we’ve seen Walmart or other top retailers enter Web3. At Rarity Sniper, we’ve covered several articles about Walmart, Amazon, and Alibaba launching Web3 initiatives in recent months. Here are some of the top headlines:
- January 2024. Siemens Partners with Amazon, Microsoft & Sony for Industrial Metaverse
- December 2023. Immutable, Amazon Release Exclusive ‘Gods Unchained’ Packs
- November 2023. Amazon Managed Blockchain Access Adds Polygon for Devs
- October 2023. Immutable Teams with Amazon to ‘Supercharge’ Web3 Gaming
- September 2023. Pudgy Penguins Debuts Toy Collection in Walmart Stores
- August 2023. Walmart Celebrates 50 Years of Hip-Hop in the Metaverse
- May 2023. Alibaba Partners with Avalanche to Build a Metaverse Launchpad
Walmart began experimenting with virtual worlds back in 2022, when it released two experiences on Roblox called Walmart Universe and Walmart Land. The activation let users purchase virtual wearables for their avatars. Following up on that activation, two weeks ago, Walmart announced plans to sell physical goods to shoppers on Roblox.
As people’s shopping habits are continually evolving, Walmart appears to be taking steps to attract younger customers to its products via Web3 technologies. Time will tell if Walmart Realm is popular with users and if it adds anything of value to the shopping experience. But for now, one thing looks certain: Walmart is bullish on Web3 and the metaverse.