Walmart Realm
Walmart set out to create an innovative e-commerce experience to stay relevant among younger audiences who engage with digital content in new ways. The foundation of this initiative was influencers—key figures who shape trends and build trust online. By integrating influencer-driven content, Walmart aimed to make shopping more engaging through live-streamed recommendations, interactive storytelling, and social media integrations. Beyond influencer marketing, the initiative blended entertainment and commerce, creating a platform where users could explore products in an immersive, gamified environment. This approach transformed online shopping into a dynamic, social experience tailored to a generation that values authenticity and interactive engagement.
Client
Walmart, Sawhorse
Deliverables
Information Architecture User Flow Post-launch Optimizations Mini-game integration
Year
2023 - 2025
Role
UX Lead, PM
Preproduction
During the preproduction phase, my primary goal was to establish a flexible yet well-reasoned product structure that would foster a shared understanding between the client and my team. Rather than defining every detail upfront, I focused on creating a foundational framework that could evolve as the project took shape.
To encourage rapid exploration and alignment, I kept the process conceptual and lo-fi, prioritizing quick iterations over polished deliverables. This approach allowed for fluid collaboration, early feedback, and adaptability—ensuring that the product vision remained clear while leaving room for refinement as development progressed.
Entry Funnel: Rethinking First Impressions
📌 Problem: After launch in May 2024, user engagement emerged as a key challenge—users weren’t staying engaged as expected. Data revealed that many never tapped the shop card on the Home screen, despite its prominence. With little room for UI optimization, we took a step back and asked:
How essential is landing on Home? What if users entered directly into a shop instead and shuffle to the next one with just a single tap?
📌 Solution: Though unconventional, the idea gained traction as we aligned it with our goal of building an innovative marketplace for digital natives. The client embraced the rationale, and after refining the details for a couple of weeks, we launched the experiment.
Impact
The results were compelling:
Key Metrics | Value | Delta |
|---|---|---|
Avg. active user | 1:03 → 5:23 |
|
Avg. engagement time | 0:33 → 0:59 |
|
Active users in store | 56k → 65k |
|
By rethinking the entry funnel, we transformed how users engaged with the platform—driving deeper interactions and stronger retention.
Gamification: Driving Engagement Through Play
One of the core hypotheses behind Walmart Realm was that gamification would enhance user engagement. To validate this, we evaluated dozens of potential game mechanics against key criteria—intuitiveness, entertainment value, replayability, feasibility, customizability, brand alignment, and legal safety. Mini-games quickly emerged as the ideal solution, offering high modularity that allowed them to be easily adapted and integrated into future expansions without creating platform dependencies—an essential factor for the product’s evolving ecosystem.
From Concept to Execution
I led the end-to-end gamification strategy, ensuring that mini-games were not just engaging but also seamlessly integrated into the experience. This involved:
Strategic Alignment – Collaborating with leadership to define mini-game mechanics that supported business and engagement goals.
Creative Development – Partnering with UI, art, and sound teams to craft a cohesive, immersive experience.
External Coordination – Managing communication with an external game development studio, overseeing iterations and ensuring smooth execution.
Seamless Integration – Working closely with the platform development team to embed the games without friction.
Process Optimization – Refining workflows across teams to improve efficiency and streamline development cycles.
Impact
The initiative resulted in 8 mini-games integrated across 15 shops, leading to an average engagement increase of 1 minute and 17 seconds among users who interacted with the games. This exceeded the benchmark average of 50 seconds by 54%, reinforcing the effectiveness of gamification in driving deeper engagement. This confirmed our hypothesis—interactive, well-designed gameplay could meaningfully boost engagement within Walmart Realm while laying the groundwork for future expansion.
