Walmart and Yahoo are continuing their holiday shopping-related partnership, leaning into new augmented reality (AR) and digital opportunities, Retail Dive reported Monday (Dec. 6).
The companies have added a new game, “Play for Joy,” on Instagram, letting users play a claw machine and grab as many virtual Walmart gifts as they can before a timer is up, according to the report.
In addition, there is a video series with lifestyle influencer Taryn Newton, which will allow shopping through her holiday décor selections with an AR experience called VidAR, the report stated. That program is by Yahoo and will let users put 3D product images over their own space with a smartphone camera.
Another series, “We Heart the Holidays,” offers other shoppable video series opportunities on Yahoo Life, according to the report.
The companies are also be bringing back the “30 Days of Savings” program, which offers new social media programming like a tweet countdown and TikTok extension, allowing audiences to see previews of gift ideas, the report stated.
Last year saw a 239% year-over-year boost in gross merchandise value (GMV), which seemed to show that the companies had been successful in helping to boost sales during the pandemic winter season of 2020, according to the report. Pre-pandemic, shoppable video and AR try-ons were a novelty; now they are often necessary for customers to want to partake in a store’s sales.
Digital innovations have been helpful for many companies. Cadillac Fairview Executive Vice President of Digital and Innovation Jose Ribau said partnering with Australian global pay platform EML Payments has helped in brainstorming ways to market malls, especially when they were closed due to the pandemic.
Read more: Retail Exec Lauds Strong Online Holiday Shopping, Predicts Pandemic-Era Conveniences Will Continue
He added that the holiday season would be like “a super bowl” for the company.
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