In June, Roku Inc. and Walmart announced their first-ever partnership in an effort to expand their marketing reach. The partners will create a new method of purchasing capabilities through TV streaming, allowing people to buy products using their remotes.
As a retailer assisting streamers wishing to buy featured products, Walmart will fulfill the buying process directly on Roku, the leading American streaming platform. The new partnership will take shopping beyond the QR code since it will alter how customers interact and buy video and TV content.
The two companies are working together to help their customers who already spend a lot of time streaming content on their TVs. Walmart claims product discovery and checkout experiences will be improved with the streamlined progression between consumers seeing an item and purchasing it, all from the comfort of their living room.
Why Walmart?
Walmart can assess customer behavior data and increase commerce offerings to them wherever and whenever they wish to shop, including for entertainment. Roku’s advertising application will bring numerous streaming television advertising benefits, including measurement, optimization, and targeting of specific shopping audiences.
The partners said their first pilot program brings entertainment and the transactional buying world together. The process will also evolve.
How It Works
Viewers elect to purchase an item from a shopping ad by pressing “OK” on their remotes. They will then be directed to the checkout section, where they verify their payment details.
Bypassing the frustration of typing a credit card number using a television remote, customers will not need to enter their credit card information. The Roku payment platform will auto-populate their payment details from Roku’s proprietary payments plan, Roku Pay.
Customers then confirm their purchase on the Walmart checkout page to place their order. Afterward, they will receive an email from Walmart affirming their purchase, which will also include their shipping, support, and return information.
The partnership will make shopping on television as straightforward as doing so on social platforms, said Peter Hamilton, Roku’s chief of television commerce.
“For years, streamers have purchased new Roku devices and signed up for millions of subscriptions with their Roku remote,” he added. “Streaming commerce brings that same ease and convenience to marketers and shoppers.”