Walmart is not only the largest employer in the U.S. but is also a pioneer in developing and adopting new trends. Late December, Walmart filed many new trademarks that indicated that the big box retailer was planning to make and sell virtual items. In another filing, the company said that it would be offering a new crypto currency as well as non fungible tokens (NFTs).
The filing has listed a variety of merchandise that it intends to sell in the virtual realm. Some of the items include the following:
electronics
appliances
toys
apparel
home goods
personal care products.
As per information available from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, on December 30, the company has submitted seven separate applications, CNBC reports.
Walmart released a statement which said that it had continuously explored the shape that future shopping would take as emerging technologies became a part of the marketplace. The metaverse is a an emerging and future marketplace. It is well known that Walmart always looks to the future whether it using fintech for seamless transactions, electric vehicles to cut emissions or drones to deliver items from its stores.
The big box retailer also said that they were “testing new ideas all the time.” The statement added that some ideas became products or services that reached customers while they tested, iterated and learnt from other ideas.
Last year, when Facebook changed its name to Meta, in keeping with its investment in the metaverse, other large behemoths also got on the bandwagon as they did not want to lose an opportunity that might or might not be the best thing in the future.
Some of the other large companies that have a stake in the metaverse include
Nike
Disney
Gap
Under Armor
Abercrombie
Urban Outfitters
Ralph Lauren
Bumble
