Walmart Plunges Into Retail Future, Bringing VR To The Masses

A trailer in the parking lot of a Walmart in Burbank, California, isn’t where you’d expect to find the future of retail marketing. But inside is the first tangible product of Walmart’s Spatial& retail-tech startup—and it can simultaneously impress you and turn your stomach. Based on the film “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” and created by Spatial& (pronounced “spatial-and”) and DreamWorks, it’s a 10-minute virtual-reality show that includes a five-minute VR simulation with stops to talk uncomfortably close with animated characters and to pet dragons during a high-speed ride through a cave. Motorized pod seats to simulate riding the animated beasts. And it’s free, except for licensed film merchandise in an actual-reality gift shop at the end. Read more at Ad Age.