With the idea of strengthening its marketing strategy focused on younger consumers, Walmart decided that the focus of the plan cannot be other than the metaverse.
That is why the giant of the retail announced this Monday, September 26, that it is experimenting with other ways to reach shoppers that are based on the metaverse, such as shopping, streaming live and augmented reality experiences.
According to Walmart’s chief marketing officer, William Whitethe firm is going to use Roblox as a “test field” in the metaverse based on two experiences: Walmart Land Y Walmart’s Universe of Play.
Both are already available on the platform.
Walmart’s first foray into the metaverse includes a plush throwing game, a music festival and a virtual goods store.
Walmart already has two experiences for Generation Z in Roblox
Walmart decided to disembark in the metaverse after it warned that the pandemic changed shopping habits and boosted consumer use of social networks, shopping apps and video game websites.
The new strategy began with the organization of events of streaming streamed live via TikTok, Twitter and YouTube, and followed up by posting food recipes through the partnership with Meredith.
It also launched augmented reality tools on Pinterest so consumers can see what furniture or décor products will look like in their own homes before they buy.
White said that Roblox will be the testing ground for Walmart and that all of these new experiences are designed “thinking about the next generation of buyers, in particular Generation Z”, people 24 years old or younger.
Instead of offering answers, White said that At Walmart today, questions are being asked about the metaverse.
“How are we driving the conversation for Gen Z? How are we generating community and engagement? What are we doing to grow favorable opinion of our brand among younger audiences?” she said.
A few months ago, different US media published that Walmart had already applied for the registration of trademarks related to the metaverse, NFTs, the metaverse and cryptocurrencies. White did not say whether or not these logs are related to releases on Roblox.
What he did say is that Walmart doesn’t expect to make any money from its immersive Roblox experiences, at least for now.
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