The retail company will use emerging technologies to create immersive experiences.

Leading tech companies such as Google, Facebook, and Samsung have been promoting experiences like Virtual Reality for years, however, could the retail giant Walmart be the driving force to help the technology become more established and mainstream?

In the latest addition of Adweek, digital marketing analyst and author, Marty Swant, writes about how Walmart’s debut of Spatial&, a newly developed in-house incubator in his article, “How Walmart’s In-House Incubator Is Imagining Virtual Reality for Retail.” Using emerging technologies, the company’s incubator will feature engaging experiences such as virtual reality and augmented reality.

According to Stan, “During an onstage interview at the Brandweek: Challenger Brands event earlier this month, Katie Finnegan, CEO of Spatial&, said Walmart created the incubator to begin planning for what retail could or should be in five or 10 years.” Experts believe that Walmart is better positioned to bring knowledge of this technology to the average consumer due to the retail giant’s immense exposure.

Walmart’s development of VR programs has long term goals. Founders of Spatial& aim to better understand how the technology will coincide with the future of merchandising.

The VR technology will serve to simplify the shopping experience. Last year, Walmart experimented with the software to help consumers purchase tent equipment that is difficult to visualize. Shoppers were able to use the VR experience within their own homes to envision what walking around in the tent would look like.

For the release of Spatial&, the company partnered with Dreamworks to advertise the new film How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. A tractor filled with VR and sensory equipment will travel to over a dozen Walmart locations so viewers can interact with characters from the movie. The experience will end in a VR you aisle and gift shop featuring toys based on the film.

For more information, review Stan’s “How Walmart’s In-House Incubator Is Imagining Virtual Reality for Retail.” Swant, Marty. “How Walmart’s In-House Incubator Is Imagining Virtual Reality for Retail.” – Adweek, Adweek, 28 Feb. 2019, http://www.adweek.com/digital/how-walmarts-in-house-incubator-is-imagining-virtual-reality-for-retail/.