Walmart is the Latest Company Aiming to Join the Metaverse

It looks like big box retailer Walmart is on its way to venturing into the metaverse.

The company also has plans to create its own cryptocurrency and a collection of NFTs.

Walmart filed several new trademarks late last month that indicate its intent to make and sell virtual goods. In a separate filing, the company said it would offer users a virtual currency, as well as non-fungible tokens, or NFTs.

According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Walmart filed the applications on Dec. 30th and a total of seven separate applications had been submitted.

In a statement, Walmart said it is “continuously exploring how emerging technologies may shape future shopping experiences.” It declined to comment on the specific trademark filings.

“We are testing new ideas all the time,” the company said. “Some ideas become products or services that make it to customers. And some we test, iterate, and learn from.”

“They’re super intense,” explained Josh Gerben, a trademark attorney. “There’s a lot of language in these, which shows that there’s a lot of planning going on behind the scenes about how they’re going to address cryptocurrency, how they’re going to address the metaverse and the virtual world that appears to be coming or that’s already here.”

It was in November of last year that Nike filed a slew of trademark applications that previewed its plans to sell virtual branded sneakers and apparel. Later that month, it said it was teaming up with Roblox to create an online world called Nikeland. In December, it bought the virtual sneaker company RTFKT (pronounced “artifact”) for an undisclosed amount.

Gap has also started selling NFTs of its iconic logo sweatshirts.

“All of a sudden, everyone is like, ‘This is becoming super real and we need to make sure our IP is protected in the space,’” said Gerben.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.