Roblox and Walmart have teamed up to create an in-game virtual Walmart experience that will allow players to order real items to be delivered to their address, which launches later today.
The game itself previously existed in Walmart Discovered, virtual shop developed by the retail giant that features games, emotes, and in-game items with carts that can be personalized. Now, that shop will be a gateway to physical items, according to a report by Digiday.
Players can try out the items with their Roblox characters and then purchase physical duplicates to be shipped to their address through a browser window within the game that mimics Walmart’s website. The experience is limited to users who are at least 13 years old and have an address in the United States.
Justin Breton, the director of brand experiences and strategic partnerships at Walmart, said in a press release that the process is safe for users.
“There is a traditional sort of checkout flow where you put your name, your address and your credit card information,” Breton said, “and that’s all powered by a Walmart API that handles all of the information super securely — it’s very safe.”
“Once you hit checkout, you’ll get your confirmation email from Walmart,” he continued. “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.”
Right now, only three physical items are available through the game. Three Roblox creators, Sarabxlla, MD17_RBLX, and Junozy, worked with Walmart to design versions of three Walmart products in a Roblox style. These items include a No Boundaries festival hobo bag, a TAL stainless steel tumbler, and Onn wireless headphones.
It remains to be seen how far this collaboration will go. It could continue to be special Roblox event items, or they could go all out on a full immersive grocery shopping experience. This period is only a test of the system, so it has plenty of room to expand.