Walmart quietly marched into the metacosm

"Many retailers are still faltering by missing out on e-commerce, so they don't want to miss out on any opportunity in the virtual world."

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Author | Lu Jieping

According to CNBC reported on Monday, Walmart is entering the metacosm and plans to create its own cryptocurrency and NFT.

According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Walmart filed a trademark application on December 30 last year, and these new trademarks show that the company intends to manufacture and sell virtual goods, including electronics, household goods, toys, sporting goods and personal care products. In a separate document, Walmart said it would offer users virtual currency as well as NFTs.

Walmart said in a statement that the company is continuing to explore how emerging technologies can shape the shopping experience of the future, but declined to comment on the specifics of the trademark application.

"We're always testing new ideas," the company says, "some of which turn into products or services that serve customers, and some of which we're still testing, iterating on, and learning." ”

"They're very positive," said trademark attorney Josh Gerburn, "and there's a lot of information that shows that Walmart has a lot of related plans behind the scenes, like about how they're going to solve the cryptocurrency problem and how they're going to deal with the metaverse and the virtual world that seems to be coming or already existing." ”

Gerborn said that since Facebook announced its name to Meta and showed the world its ambition to go beyond social media, there has been a rush of businesses rushing to figure out how to integrate into the virtual world.

Nike, for example, filed a series of trademark applications in early November, showing its plans to sell virtual branded sneakers and clothing. Later that month, it also said it would work with Roblox to create an online world called Nikeland. Last December, it also acquired virtual sneaker company RTFKT.

"All of a sudden, everybody is saying, 'This is becoming super real, and we need to make sure that our intellectual property is protected in this space,'" Gerbon said.

Gap also began selling its NFT of iconic logo sweatshirts. The clothing maker says its NFTs range from about $8.30 to $415 and come with a brick hoodie. Meanwhile, Under Armour and Adidas' NFTs also debuted last month and sold out.

Clothing retailers Urban Outfitters, Ralph Lauren and Abercrombie & Fitch have also filed trademarks in recent weeks, detailing their intentions to open some sort of virtual store, Gerburn said.

According to a report from CB Insights, retailers and brands are scrambling to invest because it could lead to new revenue streams.

The report said the launch of NFTs enables businesses to tokenize physical products and services and helps reduce online transaction costs. CB Insights notes that for luxury brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton, NFTs can serve as a form of authentication for tangible and more expensive goods.

Geppen believes that as more consumers become familiar with the metaverse and items stored on the blockchain, more and more retailers will also want to create their own ecosystems around it.

According to Frank Chaparro, director of crypto services company The Block, many retailers are still faltering over e-commerce tardiness, so they don't want to miss out on any opportunity in the virtual world.

"I think it's a win-win for any retail company," Chaparro says, "and even if it's just as a hot topic, trying weird things like giving some customers an NFT in a draw won't cause too much reputational damage to the business." ”

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