According to an announcement from Walmart, and filings from the US Patent Office, the retail giant is getting its plans together to enter the metaverse.
The company has stated that “it would offer users a virtual currency, as well as non-fungible tokens, or NFTs,” during a recent report. Applications via the United States Patent and Trademark Office, which were submitted back on December 30th, show that Walmart is getting set up to provide a digital currency, Non Fungible Tokens as well as virtual services.
While the statement did shed some light on metaverse and token functionality, details were kept relatively vague, adding only that the company is “continuously exploring how emerging technologies may shape future shopping experiences… We are testing new ideas all the time. Some ideas become products or services that make it to customers. And some we test, iterate, and learn from.”
Major brands diving into the metavese
The supermarket giant, while being one of the first in its industry to dive into the metaverse, is by no means the first major brand. Over the past year, we have seen a growing number of big companies wake up to the potential of NFTs.
Sportswear and fashion giants like Adidas and Nike have, for example, gotten involved with both The Sandbox metaverse and AR Non-Fungibles. Meanwhile, names like Burberry have sided with Mythical Games to bring high-end fashion to Blankos.
For major brands, crossing over into the digital space allows for the best of both worlds: adding to an NFT marketplace that is currently white-hot, while directly engaging with a highly technologically literate age group that reliably puts money into the ecosystem.
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