Walmart enters the metaverse, as it hopes to reach more customers

U.S. retail giant Walmart announced on Monday the launch of “Walmart Land” and “Walmart’s Universe of Play” on its metaverse gaming platform Roblox.

The company says it’s targeting the next generation of customers — Covid-19 has changed consumer spending habits and led to a surge in e-commerce sales.

The ‘Walmart Land’ experience will include Netflix trivia with “Stranger Things” star Noah Schnapp, a virtual dressing room, and a music festival with popular artists. It will also sell “verch” for avatars that correspond to real-world commodities in Walmart stores.

The second experience, Walmart’s Universe of Play, will feature immersive games that will feature characters from the retailer’s most popular holiday toy products, including L.O.L Surprise! and Paw Patrol.

Walmart, in essence, wishes to capture the attention of Generation Z to virtual reality. Madison Beer and Kane Brown will perform at Walmart Land’s Electric Fest. Its virtual dressing room features products from afp4, Halsey’s makeup line, and YouTubers Brooklyn and Bailey’s Walmart skincare line.

The company’s chief marketing officer, William White, in a press release, said he’s observed how “teenagers, and potentially adults” are spend more time on Roblox.

“Roblox will serve as a testing ground for Walmart as it considers moves in the metaverse and beyond,” William White added.

Earlier this year, the retail giant filed for metaverse-related trademarks. Some of the trademarks expressed the company’s interest in creating or selling virtual goods, as well as providing users with virtual currency and non-fungible tokens, or NFTs.

For the time being, Walmart says it won’t profit from its immersive experiences. On Roblox, gamers can earn tokens and other rewards to spend on virtual goods.

National brands, such as L.O.L. Surprise! toys and Skullcandy headphones, were included in the experiences based on their popularity with Roblox’s younger audience of gamers, not on payment.

Users can click in on the excitement today and freely access the Walmart Land experience on Roblox.com and Walmart’s Universe of Play on any device including PC, Mac, iOS, Android, Amazon devices, Xbox consoles, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.