As customers grab the same grocery staples they have for decades, Walmart is betting that gamifying the experience will challenge those habits.
The retailer plans to launch Walmart Unlimited, a three-part miniseries that features the entrepreneurs behind its products. Launched last month on Spatial, the game includes full commerce integration that enables in-app purchases.
Players spend an average of 37 minutes in Walmart Unlimited, according to the retailer. This matters because more than 36% of US adults play video games daily, according to a January 2025 Attest survey.
The medium proves effective by holding consumer attention while driving both discovery and purchase intent, said Walmart head of brand marketing innovation Justin Breton.
“Gaming really delivers against a full-funnel marketing strategy,” he said. “You’ve got your brand engagement components at the top of the funnel, consideration in the middle, and now the ability to actually shop. You go from driving engagement to driving discovery to actually converting people.”
Gaming offers brands direct access to younger consumers—-nearly 75% of Gen Z will engage in some form of digital gaming by 2027, EMARKETER forecasts.
The perception that gamers lack purchasing power stems from unnatural product integrations that target them, said Alex Blum, chief operating officer of Unity, which powered the software integration for in-game purchases.
“There’s a perception that this demo doesn’t have disposable income, but we know there’s already billions being spent on digital assets,” he said. “We as an industry have failed because (branded gaming) wasn’t contextually relevant, and some unnatural thing that caused you to pause your gaming experience.”
While in-game commerce is a promising development, measuring success based on direct sales won’t tell the whole story, said Max Massengill, vice president, GTM strategy at Transmission.
“The key for brands is going to be having the analytics infrastructure in place to understand the efficacy of the test, outside of purely evaluating on a basis of in-game purchases,” adding that “you’ll discover the ROI extends much further when measuring broader lifetime value.”
Walmart and Spatial worked with 40 artists to create the game, which only increases its impact in a way paid media could never replicate, said Breton.
“We are championing these creators, and they are becoming champions of our brand,” he said. “That’s more powerful than spending dollars to drive awareness.”
If brands consider the longevity of these launches within broader marketing strategy, gaming becomes a path to "build relationships with consumers for generations to come," said Irina Shames, chief commercial officer at Open World.
“Brands shouldn’t just jump into the space because it’s trendy, but rather see what their consumers naturally gravitate towards and build a consistent strategy around it,” said Shames. “Even if it’s successful, it can’t be a one-hit wonder.”
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