Walmart plans to “reinvent retail” by allowing customers to purchase physical versions of products they use in the House Flip virtual world.
House Flip and Walmart Collaboration
Walmart’s move into the metaverse began with the mobile virtual environment game called House Flip, which they developed in collaboration with game developer FUN-GI. This game offers players the opportunity to redesign and sell virtual homes. After witnessing the success of House Flip, Walmart decided to explore the retail potential of this virtual world.
Walmart intends to enable House Flip users to purchase the decor items they like in the virtual world in the real world. They plan to introduce products from brands like Mainstays and Better Homes and Gardens into the virtual environment.
Walmart’s Virtual Fashion Experience
Walmart is not limiting itself to decor products alone. They are also entering the virtual fashion world through a collaboration with the Scoop clothing brand. Customers will be able to personalize their avatars with virtual clothing on the Zepeto platform. Zepeto stands out as one of Asia’s largest metaverse platforms. This partnership will give fashion enthusiasts the freedom to create their styles in the virtual world.
“Opportunities to reshape and reinvent retail to provide the highest benefit to customers.”
Thomas Kang
The Future of Virtual Shopping
Thomas Kang, Walmart’s General Manager of Metaverse Commerce, emphasizes that these developments are just the beginning, and more innovations are expected in the coming years. Kang highlights that customers will be able to use their Walmart accounts to make payments for both physical and virtual products, all without leaving the virtual environment.
Walmart aims to make these virtual shopping environments accessible from any device. Additionally, they want to ensure that virtual spaces are secure and suitable for everyone.
“We embrace digital citizenship and want to ensure we create safe spaces for everyone. We want to be leaders in trust and security in this environment.”
Thomas Kang
