In a virtual worlds first, Walmart Discovered, the Roblox brand experience that’s had over 20 million visits, has introduced real-world commerce to the Roblox ecosystem.
In recent times, GEEIQ partner Walmart has established itself as an early-mover and innovator in this new communication vertical of virtual worlds and gaming.
And today, as we move beyond the phase of brand activations in virtual worlds being focused solely on top-of-funnel education and awareness, innovators like Walmart are leveraging Roblox and other platforms for full-funnel marketing activities, with emphasis on audience conversion.
Walmart Discovered, which just last week was nominated for two Shorty Awards for ‘Best UGC’ and ‘Best Interactive Content’, is now the first to link its real-world product offering to its Roblox experience.
So, how does it work?
The brand partnered with three creators (Junozy, Sarabxlla and MD17_RBLX) it had previously worked with on popular UGC (user-generated content) items for Walmart Discovered. Each creator then chose their favorite real-world item from Walmart.com, and designed a virtual twin of the item that would be made available in Walmart Discovered.
Members of the Roblox community based in the US are now able to purchase these real-world items directly in Walmart Discovered, and receive a virtual twin as a free UGC item.
This is a Roblox first for a brand that’s already seen over 130 years worth of time spent with it on the platform. With 90% of Americans living within 10 miles of one of its stores, Walmart does not rely on its real-world dominance and traditional marketing methods to evolve its brand and scale its audience.
In its pursuit of testing, exploration and innovation, Walmart has leveraged Roblox to future-proof its brand by meeting its consumers of tomorrow, where they are. And now, it is continuing to enrich the experience it delivers to its Roblox community by offering real-world purchasing in tandem with its popular UGC offering.
This was emphasized by Walmart’s Director of Brand Experiences & Strategic Partnerships, Justin Breton in a recent GEEIQ webinar.
“There was this perception that Roblox was for kids, but with Walmart Discovered, what we’ve seen is that more than 65% of people that are spending time with our brand on this platform are above the age of 18. They are at a time when they are actually making brand decisions and purchase decisions. So, we are engaging with the core customer that we intended to engage with by showing up on the Roblox platform.”
This is a watershed moment for brands in gaming and virtual worlds. For some time, the brand opportunity in these spaces has been centered around awareness and education, with KPIs focused on metrics like visits and time spent.
Today, with Walmart embracing real-world commerce through the medium of its Roblox experience, the transition to virtual worlds and gaming platforms as full-funnel marketing channels is well underway, and Walmart is leading the charge.
