Walmart: Bitcoin and the metaverse at the heart of corporate strategy

Walmart said crypto and the metaverse are at the center of its corporate business strategy and that it will use digital assets, such as Bitcoin, in its physical and virtual stores. 

Walmart and its corporate strategy focused on Bitcoin and the metaverse

The famous US retailer, Walmart, appears to be increasingly convinced of the future of the blockchain industry, saying that its corporate business strategy will be centered on crypto and the metaverse. 

In an interview, Chief Technology Officer, Suresh Kumar, said that digital assets will be used by the company in the near future, both in its physical and virtual stores. Here are Kumar’s exact words:

“Crypto will become an important part of how customers transact. We want to make sure that we make it as friction free for customers to be able to transact, and to be able to buy, and how they are able to derive value out of it. […] I think a lot of the disruption is going to start happening in terms of different payment methods, different payment options.”

Basically, Walmart’s CTO, believes that the use and sale of digital goods can enable the company’s consumers to discover new products as their habits have become increasingly changing and trendy. 

It is no coincidence that as early as last year, Walmart together with the company Coinstar launched a pilot project that allowed people to buy BTC in its stores through the installation of 200 Bitcoin ATMs. 

Walmart and the launch of immersive experiences on Roblox

Kumar’s statements echo somewhat what Walmart announced last month: the launch of Walmart Land and Walmart’s Universe of Play, the two immersive experiences in the Roblox metaverse. 

https://twitter.com/WalmartInc/status/1574400510806859777

“Welcome to Walmart Land! ???? You’re invited to Walmart Land and Walmart’s Universe of Play, two new immersive experiences in the metaverse mega-platform, Roblox. Grab your headsets and hop in: https://bit.ly/3SxApNr.“

Basically, Walmart Land offers the Roblox community of more than 52 million daily users its fashion, style, beauty and entertainment items. 

Specifically, it is a series of experiences involving a virtual merchandise store (or “verch”) for one’s avatar, a physics-defying Ferris wheel that gives users a bird’s-eye view of the world, and unlockable tokens and badges that can be earned in various games and contests.

At the same time, Walmart’s Universe of Play is the virtual destination dedicated to virtual toys and adventures, such as electric mobility items, or hoverboards, which an avatar can use to travel faster in the universe. 

Registered trademark applications include NFT and issuing its own cryptocurrency

In December last year, Walmart reportedly applied to register several trademarks pertaining to both the world of NFTs and the metaverse, as well as the issuance of its own cryptocurrency.

The trademarks filed express the retail giant’s intention to also create its own virtual marketplace, where it can sell virtual goods.

Broadly speaking, this is a direct commitment by Walmart to have its own metaverse, with its own virtual stores and its own crypto-wallet with its own cryptocurrency. 

The Roblox metaverse and the various brands 

Walmart has joined a number of fashion brands that have chosen Roblox to expand into the metaverse. 

The latest is Tommy Hilfiger, the famous American fashion house, which has embarked on this new journey that combines the real with the digital in its fashion shows. 

But also Burberry, which last July had launched its limited-edition virtual bag collection on Roblox, priced at 800 Robux (9.99 euros). 

Not only that, while Roblox’s islands seem to have also conquered brands in other industries, such as Spotify, the music streaming service, other brands like Heineken have decided to launch their products on other metaverses, with Silver Beer appearing in Decentraland. 

In any case, while Roblox is booming, its subscriptions dropped 4% this quarter. The ROBLOX token, with which to trade within the metaverse, also suffered a slight drop in trading. 

However, none of this appears to be stopping the expansion of the California-based company’s free-to-play metaverse. In fact, in a research study, it appears that the world of Roblox is particularly popular among 17- to 24-year-olds, and the company sees this trend growing for the next two years.