Walmart Realm debuts a new Metaverse-style approach to e-commerce

The new shopping experience at Walmart Realm features radically different environments from the retail giant’s physical stores. As the company’s latest expansion into a metaverse-style virtual, immersive shopping experience, the launch shows yet another way Walmart is trying to position itself as Amazon’s online competitor.

Walmart Realm allows shoppers to immerse themselves in Disney shopping experiences and avatar experiences with funky music playing in the background. The only thing missing is 3D glasses. A recent sample of the site — which offers home, beauty and fashion categories — made it easy to fit the $113 Alden Design Mid-Century Wingback Accent faux-leather chair into the cart, but the experience was almost as fun as shopping.

What it’s like to use Walmart Realm

While Walmart did not respond to a request for comment, William White, its chief marketing officer, emphasized Realm’s futuristic shopping experience.

“It’s fantastic, it’s inspiring and, to put it simply, it’s great fun,” White said. “At Walmart, we are committed to innovation with e-commerce experiences designed for the virtual world.”

Walmart ranks second in the top 1,000 in Digital Commerce 360’s database of North American online retailers for online sales. The retailer is also ranked No. 9 in the Digital Commerce 360 Global Online Markets Database, which covers the top 100 online marketplaces by gross merchandise value.

Walmart isn’t alone in its belief that Realm can transform.

Digital marketing expert Joe Karasin, owner of Karasin PPC, says if Realm is successful, other retailers will try similar tactics.

“Walmart Realm will likely be the primary experiential shopping vehicle that other retailers will want to emulate in the future,” Karasin predicts. “This is very much in line with where technology is heading. Amazon offers an AR View option for furniture, and other retailers like Wayfair and even Value City have followed suit.”

He predicts that Walmart could even take some of Amazon’s digital market share.

Walmart’s continued interest in e-commerce in the Metaverse

Realm showcases the work of content designers from Sawhorse, as well as a platform created by Emperia, which collaborated with Walmart on the project. It builds on Walmart’s previous announcements and partnerships to create immersive shopping experiences, including one with 3D content platform developer Unity. Additionally, Walmart has been working on in-game commerce using the Roblox virtual gaming platform and exploring NFT use cases.

Some critics have dismissed Realm as a fad, but Michael Zakkour, a Walmart watcher and founder of consulting firm 5 New Digital, doesn’t think so.

“WMR is not a fad; it’s a smart strategy,” Zakkour said. “Our initial focus is not on increasing revenue, but rather on attracting new and younger consumers while providing existing customers with an additional experience to shop and experience Walmart.”

He added that using creators and influencers to create, curate and run stores is an innovative business.

“This is different from what is offered in stores, online and in the marketplace,” Zakkour explained.

And Realm really stands out. It offers virtual shops with an undersea theme (but with a funny name “So Jelly” after the fish), a Wild West theme (Y’Alternative), and a futuristic, avataristic lunar landscape theme (Go Chromatic). At So Jelly, for example, a full-length Vlush mirror with an ocean motif attracted a sailor.

But the big question is: will buyers bite?

“Consumers may not take advantage of 100% virtual shopping, but if they do, it will revolutionize retail in a significant way,” Karasin said.

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