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Walmart has partnered with Unity, a 3D content platform and game engine, to enable creators to sell physical items in a variety of games and apps.
With this partnership, Walmart will enable Unity developers to “integrate with Walmart’s commerce API.” [application programming interface] This will allow you to sell Walmart products on more than 20 platforms.
This partnership will help bring Walmart’s retail advantages to the digital commerce realm. According to a Walmart release, more than 1.1 million developers use the Unity Editor every month.
“We have an opportunity to connect the physical and digital realms in a way that only Walmart can, giving our customers and members an authentic experience where they already are.” – Tom Kang, vice president and general manager of commerce, said. In a statement on the 8th. “By exposing Walmart’s Commerce API to the Unity development community, we are enabling developers to offer new mechanisms to further drive user engagement, while also allowing players to trade physical goods without leaving the game or virtual world. or app.”
“This announcement paves the way for new innovations in commerce for games and other virtual experiences,” said Marc Whitten, president of Create at Unity, in a statement. “We’re excited to give Unity developers another new revenue source option while keeping players in their games and experiences.”
The news marks Walmart’s recent foray into the realm of immersive commerce and virtual reality. In September 2022, the retailer launched two immersive Metaverse experiences powered by Roblox to provide “interactive content and entertainment for customers,” Walmart said at the time. In 2023, Walmart partnered with a home improvement mobile game that allows players to test paint colors sold at Walmart while playing the game.
And last September, Kang said Walmart would continue testing various virtual experiences in 2024.