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Walmart engages Gen Z with immersive dorm shopping experience

Your Dorm Your Way at Walmart Realm, US

US – Walmart has launched a new back-to-school shopping experience designed to captivate the Gen Z market. On 30 July 2024, the retail giant launched an immersive virtual shopping platform centred on dorm room curation, aiming to streamline the process of dorm shopping for college students.

The second phase of the immersive shopping platform Walmart Realm, the Your Dorm Your Way experience features five uniquely styled virtual dorm rooms where students can explore and shop for essentials. Each room is enhanced with mini-games, social media content from Walmart creators and interactive surprises, blending entertainment with commerce.

Developed in collaboration with virtual reality tech company Emperia, the platform’s gamification elements, such as the Byte-sized Crush mini-game in the Y2K dorm, offer rewards and personalised experiences making the shopping journey both engaging and memorable.

Walmart’s approach exemplifies how virtual technologies can bridge the gap between inspiration and commerce, delivering an innovative and interactive retail experience, a topic we explore further in Brand Innovation Debrief: Walmart.

Strategic opportunity

Take a page from Walmart’s creative metaverse strategy and meet younger audiences where they spend the most time – on gaming platforms such as Roblox, Fortnite and Minecraft

Gymshark and Surreal team up to launch Cardi-Os cereal

Cardi-Os by Gymshark and Surreal, UK

UK – Gymwear brand Gymshark has partnered with cereal start-up Surreal to introduce Cardi-Os, a high-protein cereal with a strawberry protein shake flavour. Aimed at gym-goers, this new cereal offers a tasty alternative to traditional protein sources such as eggs and chicken. Each bowl of Cardi-Os contains 13g of protein, more than two eggs, and just 1g of sugar, making it a flavourful and healthy option for fitness enthusiasts.

Calum Watson, partnerships director at Gymshark, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration stating: ‘We love what the guys at Surreal are doing – the mission, the product, the branding are all so attention-grabbing. And if we can collaborate on a product that will help our community reach their fitness goals, then we’re all for it.’

Surreal co-founder Jac Chetland added: ‘Gymshark do gym. We do protein. Our Gymshark protein cereal is a match made in gym-heaven.’

The limited-edition Cardi-Os cereal is now available on Surreal’s website and in Gymshark stores, including its new Stratford location, at a retail price of £5.99 ($7.70, €6.98).

In the Palatable Protein insight in our Functional Feasting macrotrend report, we analysed how food producers, especially snack brands, are evolving to meet consumers’ need for high-protein products.

Strategic opportunity

Unexpected brand partnerships often attract the most attention. Look for businesses in other sectors that share similar values and customer profiles, and collaborate on innovative products or campaigns that cut through the sea of sameness

Even moderate drinking carries serious health risks for older consumers

Sippers, UK

UK – A new study published in medical journal JAMA Network Open has revealed that even light or moderate drinking carries an increased risk of cancer, particularly among older adults with health-related or socio-economic risk factors.

Tracking 135,103 British adults aged 60 and older over 12 years, researchers found that high-risk drinking (at least two pints of cider a day for men or one for women) was associated with a 33% higher risk of dying and moderate drinking was associated with a 15% greater risk of death from cancer. Even low-risk drinking was found to carry an 11% greater risk of death from cancer when compared with occasional drinking.

Moderate or low-risk drinking was also found to be particularly dangerous for people who live in poorer areas or are in worse health.

As explored in the Silver Sprinters insight in our Boomers Now and Next: From Ageing to Becoming report, younger consumers aren’t the only ones re-evaluating their relationship with alcohol. This research adds to mounting evidence that questions alcohol’s supposed benefits and highlights its potential risks, further encouraging a consumer shift towards sober living.

Strategic opportunity

Develop no- or low-alcohol alternatives marketed to older adults, emphasising health benefits and offering curated pairing notes that mimic the experience of drinking alcohol

Stat: Paris Olympics go viral as TikTok content surges

Volunteer medals bearers uniforms designed by Louis Vuitton, Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, LVMH, France

Global – The Paris Olympics have ignited a surge of activity on TikTok, with more than 1.3m posts about the Games, a staggering 1,828% increase from Tokyo 2020, according to the social media platform. TikTok, which partnered with Team GB for the event, reported that 233,440 creators contributed content under the hashtag #Olympics – an 822% rise compared to the previous Olympics. Meanwhile, the hashtag #Paris2024 amassed over 526,700 posts.

Two stand-out athletes fuelled this viral frenzy: Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen, named the Muffin Man, and US pommel horse bronze medallist Stephen Nedoroscik, who drew comparisons with Clark Kent. Christiansen’s love for chocolate muffins attracted 83m video views.

‘These trends are starting on TikTok and we know that we’re then part of pop culture,’ said Rollo Goldstaub, global head of sports partnerships at TikTok.

We recently explored the best-in-class fashion and luxury brand activations at the Olympics in our Five Fashion Activations Taking Olympic Gold report. For more insights on the latest innovations, RSVP to our Sports and Leisure Futures 2024–2025 Online Event.

Strategic opportunity

Some of the most popular Olympic content was user-generated (UGC). Incentivise your customers to create content mentioning or featuring your brand through giveaways or discount codes, amplifying your presence on social media in a creative and authentic way