Walmart is testing a Roblox feature that lets players buy physical goods in-game

29.04.2024 - 17:31 / videogameschronicle.com / Chris Scullion / Ios

Walmart is testing out a new Roblox feature that allows players to buy physical items through its Roblox experience.

‘Walmart Discovered’ is a branded Roblox experience that was originally added to the platform in May 2023. It lets players discover other experiences and in-game items.

However, starting today, players who are aged over 13 and living in the US will have access to a new section which lets them order actual physical items and have them delivered to their home address, much like the main Walmart website.

As reported by Digiday, eligible players who enter the experience today will find a new storefront which shows virtual ‘twin’ versions of items sold at real Walmart stores.

If players want to buy both the virtual and physical versions of these items, they can be sent to “an e-commerce experience” which brings up a browser window inside Roblox, imitating the Walmart site.

Players can then enter their name, address and credit card information, and the item will then be delivered to their home as normal.

“That’s all powered by a Walmart API that handles all of the information super securely,” Walmart director of brand experiences and strategic partnerships Justin Breton told Digiday. “It’s very safe.”

He added: “Once you hit checkout, you’ll get your confirmation email from Walmart. All of that is handled by us on the back end, the user will then get their item in the mail, but the virtual twin is granted immediately back on Roblox.”

Walmart’s new feature is being tested in collaboration with Roblox, which stated during its Investor Day in November that it wanted to add e-commerce features to the platform. During this test period, Walmart will take all revenue, with no cut going to Roblox.

Roblox will be teaming with a variety of products and brands for other tests, to study how e-commerce performs on the platform.

If the tests are successful and users show a willingness to buy physical products via Roblox, it opens up the possibility of numerous Roblox experiences containing e-commerce shopping areas for physical deliveries.

“We are excited to start testing real-world commerce as a key step towards enabling it in the future for our community of creators and brands,” Roblox VP of economy Enrico D’Angelo said.

“Shopping for virtual items is already an important element of how people engage and express themselves on Roblox daily, so our goal is to gather feedback, test the technology and learn what resonates with Gen Z customers the most when it comes to shopping for physical items.”