Walmart is launching a gamified mini-series to expand its immersive commerce capabilities, aiming to tap into the next generation of customers.

Walmart United debuts this week on the Spatial Immersive platform, a 3D environment where creators can design and share interactive virtual experiences.

Customers will be able to explore an immersive experience that fuses VR with 3D visualisation and gamification, with real versions of products seen in the virtual world available for purchase directly in the immersive world.

The immersive project was created by Walmart in collaboration with animators and producer Martian Blueberry and game development studio PIGIAMA KASAMA.

Spatial supports various applications, including games, virtual classrooms and experiential marketing.

Users can create and explore immersive worlds on web, mobile and VR devices. The platform also supports multiplayer interactions.

With this move, the US retailer reinforces its commitment to expanding immersive, digital experiences for customers.

It follows the launch of its fifts “No Boundaries” (NoBo) collection on Zepeto.

NoBo is Walmart’s young adult clothing brand collection initially launched in October 2024, that features items available for purchase on the virtual space Zepeto.

With a global user base of over 400 million people, Zepeto is a South Korean mobile chat app, popular among teens, where users can create and interact as 3D avatars in different worlds and design and monetise digital products.

Justin Breton, head of brand marketing innovation at Walmart, said in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday: “If you’re going to activate on an emerging platform: Do it right, by listening to the community; Do it well, by testing, learning, and optimising; Do it often, with consistent, fresh updates.”

He added: “Today, we’re marking a milestone: our fifth drop, featuring ten new virtual items, all inspired by our Spring No Boundaries collection. Why are these items just tops? Because that’s what the community asked for. And we listened to them.”

The marketing expert explained that to make this drop even more engaging, the retailer has also added a new photobooth backdrop, giving customers more ways to create and share their NoBo looks.

"We believe the future of fashion is community-driven, engaging and borderless. And we are just getting started,” he said.

The October launch included the virtual presentation of ten pieces from the NoBo winter collection, with Sawhorse Production posting a video which shows several 3D avatars on a catwalk wearing the brand's outfits.

The video also demonstrated that users can interact with the avatars and change garments according to their preferences.

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