WALMART’S HISTORY ON ROBLOX

Walmart launched a Roblox brand experience in 2022 and… it was not well received by the community garnering a 59% approval rating and unfavorable press.

But Walmart wasn’t ready to give up on creating a presence on Roblox.

We were tasked with finding a new way to bring the brand to Roblox that would be meaningful to the community, well received, and true to the brand.

WALMART’S NEW GOALS FOR ROBLOX

* Provide the Roblox community with meaningful, authentic value

* Do something no other brand has done on the platform

* Attract 10 million visitors

* Earn an >80% approval rating

* Increase brand favorability

We redefined the Roblox shopping experience and created:

“Walmart Discovered.”

A Walmart experience by the community, for the community.

It’s a place to discover the incredible games, artists and creators on the platform.

Plus - it’s a place for creators to get discovered - players can nominate their favorite indie games and virtual items giving underdog creators the chance to shine in the spotlight.

DATA GATHERING

We looked at how the audience spends their time on the Platform and their purchase habits.

42% of Gen Z Roblox players say that expressing themselves in the digital world is more important than IRL

1 in 5 change their avatar everyday

We also saw an explosion of digital items being created

62M+ new clothing items every year

And realized - players were overwhelmed with options and with the shopping and discovery experience native to the platform.

TARGET AUDIENCE

The core Roblox gamer with a skew towards 17-24 year olds

APPROACH

Our strategy was to create a place that is by the community, for the community.

For Roblox Players:

It's a fun, social and easy way to find games and items

For Roblox Creators:

It’s the best platform to reach a new/bigger audience

It’s an entirely different approach than other brands or competitors have taken on the platform.

In September 2023 we created a persistent, stand alone world within Roblox. Players could activate a metaverse version of a shopping cart to fly around, interact with friends and connect with the games & digital items around the world.

FOR THE COMMUNITY

The world itself was structured in Departments - just like a real Walmart but with Roblox themes (Racing, Sports, Pets, Beauty, Entertainment, Town & City). But instead of displaying Walmart items - each Department was populated with digital items created by community members and games made by community members. This allowed players to discover the next new thing and to support the community by trying on items, purchasing them and directly teleporting to their favorite games.

BY THE COMMUNITY

In every department players could also nominate their favorite items and experiences - telling us what they wanted to see and creating opportunities for indie creators to get discovered.

The experience was a huge hit on Roblox:

#1 branded experience on Roblox

96% approval rating - highest rated branded shopping experience (goal was 80%)

20 Million visits to the experience in just 6 months (goal was 20M)

30k strong Discord community

1 Million items earned

It made a real difference for Roblox Creators

30+ Creators Featured

945 items & experiences showcased

AND it improved perception of the Walmart brand as a whole

Players were 75% more likely to be highly favorable of Walmart

Players were 2.85x more likely to recommend Walmart to a friend