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Walmart seemingly has big plans for the metaverse

Look, they’re everywhere. Why wouldn’t they be in the metaverse?

by
Joe Rice-Jones
January 17, 2022

Image: TalkMarket

Walmart is the latest big name to join the race for the metaverse. CNBC has reported that the company had filed a slew of metaverse-related trademarks in the last few days of 2021.

A total of seven trademark applications were submitted; ranging from its own cryptocurrency and a crypto wallet app, to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and even virtual versions of goods that Walmart sells in its physical stores.

The Verge also noticed one trademark was for augmented and virtual reality experiences including fitness and nutrition classes.

Some of these were also shopping services, named “Verse to Store,” “Verse to Curb,” and “Verse to Home.” That seems to us like a virtual shopping experience to tie into its existing logistics options.

We really hope it’s not like the VR superstore experience that Walmart created for SXSW back in 2017 (and shown in the embedded tweet below).

This is how Walmart envisions Shopping in the #Metaverse.

Thoughts? 💭 pic.twitter.com/5l7KhoBse7
— Homo Digitalis (@DigitalisHomo) January 3, 2022

It’s probably worth noting that these trademark applications don’t mean that Walmartcoin is going to appear any time soon.

The company told Bloomberg that “we routinely file trademark applications as part of the innovation process.” Once Walmart gets close to actually using the trademarks, then they will be registered.

Still, the fact that Walmart has filed so many trademarks is a sign of its metaverse ambitions. Walmart already has 200 Coinstar kiosks in its stores, which enable customers to turn spare change into Bitcoin.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.