Retail giants are no longer just selling products — they’re creating immersive digital experiences that build loyalty, drive discovery, and speak directly to younger audiences. Walmart’s return to Spatial with its new chapter in Walmart Unlimited is a masterclass in immersive commerce, and it offers important lessons for tourism leaders looking to connect with Gen Z and Gen Alpha.

Let’s break it down 👇

🌀 Walmart Unlimited 2.0 – A Spatial Adventure

“In this next chapter, we took a cinematic approach to storytelling, while delivering on a gamified quest that brings value to our customers.”

Justin Breton, Director of Brand Experiences & Strategic Partnerships, Walmart

In this new installment, Walmart isn’t merely experimenting. They’re building a gamified world with cinematic storytelling and real-world utility — offering Walmart+ perks, exclusive discounts, and product trials to users who complete quests inside Spatial.

Key features include:

• 🎥 A cinematic narrative that turns shopping into storytelling
• 🧩 Quests and collectibles that unlock real rewards
• 💸 Integration with Walmart’s eCommerce ecosystem
• 🧍♀️ Personalized avatars in a fully immersive 3D environment
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“Think of it as the digital version of a flagship store — but one you can explore while wearing sweatpants and a headset.”

🌍 What This Means for Travel & Tourism

Walmart’s return to Spatial isn’t just a win for retail — it’s a signal that gamified, immersive environments are becoming mainstream marketing tools.

Tourism brands can take inspiration from this strategy, not by replicating retail tactics, but by thinking creatively about how to spark curiosity, exploration, and cultural connection inside the digital spaces where younger travelers already spend time.

Gen Z isn’t waiting to discover your destination through ads — they’re discovering places through gameplay, avatars, and digital storylines.

Here are just a few ideas that could bring destination marketing to life in similar ways:

• 🗺️ Interactive Quests: Invite players to explore ancient ruins, hike national parks, or complete cultural trivia challenges that unlock new areas of a game.
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• 🧱 Build-to-Explore Worlds: Let users shape virtual districts inspired by real-world cities, beaches, or neighborhoods — blending creativity with geographic storytelling.
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• 🎒 Digital Travel Challenges: Mirror the experience of planning a trip with in-game scavenger hunts, packing decisions, or itinerary puzzles, each tied to real-world landmarks.
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• 📸 Photo Mode Missions: Encourage users to capture virtual selfies at scenic spots — and then compare them with the real destination through social or web integrations.
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These ideas aren’t about replacing travel — they’re about starting the journey earlier, inside the platforms Gen Z already trusts and enjoys.

Walmart isn’t chasing hype. They’re building digital experiences that provide utility, engagement, and brand affinity — and tourism has just as much creative territory to explore.

Walmart’s strategy provides a strategic roadmap: the future of marketing is gamified, immersive, and experiential.

Tourism boards, hotel brands, and attractions should consider:

• What’s our immersive commerce strategy?
• Are we showing up in the platforms Gen Z uses daily?
• How do we gamify the discovery of our destination?

If Walmart can turn a loyalty program into an interactive world, imagine the potential of:

• 🗺️ A national tourism board that offers virtual badges for visiting landmarks
• 🏨 Hotels that give discount codes for completing a branded quest
• 🛫 Airlines that let players explore new routes inside an immersive world before booking
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With Gen Z already exploring virtual worlds, there’s a growing opportunity for destinations to meet them where they are.

📊 Gen Z x Immersive Commerce: Why This Works

• 97% of Gen Z play video games weekly
• 66% of Gen Z use video as part of trip planning (Source: Google)
• 87% say gamified loyalty programs make them more likely to purchase
• Gen Z trusts UGC and experiential content over traditional ads
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• Walmart reported a 12x engagement rate in immersive spaces over standard social content (source: Spatial case studies)
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Walmart isn’t chasing trends — they’re setting the tone for how global brands show up in digital playgrounds.

Tourism brands could follow suit — not to sell products, but to sell the experience before a flight is ever booked.

🌐 Inspiration for Tourism Boards

Here’s how tourism boards could take a page from Walmart’s playbook:

🔍 Takeaway

Tourism isn’t just about brochures and booking engines anymore. It’s about meeting your next traveler in their natural habitat — and increasingly, that habitat looks like Roblox, Fortnite, Spatial and beyond.

Immersive commerce is here. Are you ready to turn travel into a game worth playing?

🎯 Destinate helps tourism brands and destinations step into immersive platforms — to connect with Gen Z where they already are.

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