Retail giant Walmart is not satisfied with just having a physical presence. The company also wants to establish a robust virtual existence in the metaverse as well. It aims to achieve that by getting involved in over a series of patents covering digital currencies, virtual goods, as well as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), CNBC reported.
Mark Zuckerberg-led Facebook has opened endless opportunities for the virtual world and digital assets by changing itself to the metaverse. Before the advent of this platform, discussions were distributed in terms of cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and alternate universes for online games. Meta seems to have consolidated them, but Walmart’s recent move is likely to bring them all under one roof.
As CNBC reported, Walmart filed a total of seven trademark applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on December 30, just before the end of 2021. The most prominent ones among those are financial service patents for digital currencies or tokens in addition to a downloadable software platform for managing digital tokens, digital and blockchain assets, and cryptocurrencies.
Walmart’s virtual merchandise will not be limited to clothing, books, or games but will also include household appliances, musical instruments, pet products, jewelry, beauty, and personal care products, indoor and outdoor furniture, art and craft supplies, and holiday and celebration supplies, among other things.
A trademark attorney told CNBC that the application disclosed intense planning in the background about just how the retailer wanted to enter the metaverse. However, a Walmart spokesperson dismissed it as “an experiment to explore emerging technologies.” Walmart’s push towards digitalization is like other popular brands’ attempts such as Nike, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Ralph Lauren who had also filed trademark applications to open their own virtual stores, CNBC reported.
Some brands like Gap, Adidas, and Under Armour have already released their NFTs, some of which were sold within hours of their release. Now people are waiting to see the progress of Walmart in the virtual realm.