Walmart pilots virtual commerce with Roblox

Walmart launched its Discovered experience in Roblox last year and provided some details on early success metrics earlier this year. Now, Walmart and Roblox have launched a pilot project that merges virtual and physical e-commerce on the Roblox platform. This initiative allows Roblox users to purchase real Walmart items via a virtual storefront within the game, which are then delivered to their actual homes. The process inside Roblox mimics shopping on Walmart's website, complete with a virtual checkout, enhancing the e-commerce experience by integrating it seamlessly into the gaming environment.

This venture not only tests the potential for selling physical goods in virtual spaces but also aims to transform how brands like Walmart can interact with younger, digitally-native audiences on gaming platforms. If successful, this could pave the way for broader e-commerce applications within Roblox and similar platforms, offering a new revenue stream for brands and an innovative shopping experience for users.

Walmart is [now] able to sell physical goods directly to users inside Roblox.

The introduction of real-life e-commerce could be a watershed moment for the company’s ambitions to become an all-encompassing destination for virtual life.

Walmart’s Roblox e-commerce experience launches later today, with users inside the pre-existing Walmart Discovered able to have real-life items shipped directly to their doorsteps. Users entering the experience will be greeted with a new storefront showcasing virtual twins of select physical items sold at real-life Walmart stores. 

After trying out the virtual items on their avatars, players will be able to load an e-commerce experience that takes the form of a browser window inside Roblox imitating the experience of shopping on Walmart’s website — essentially a virtual laptop set up inside Roblox to access Walmart.com. The commerce feature within Walmart Discovered will be gated specifically to users aged 13 or older in the United States only.

Full story at Digiday.