Walmart Embraces ‘RomCommerce’ to Expand Shoppable TV Offering

Walmart’s latest foray into shoppable video will seem familiar to fans of the Hallmark channel.

The retail giant has teamed up with TikTok and Roku to launch its first-ever shoppable series, the company announced Tuesday (Nov. 28).

Modeled after the standard Hallmark holiday movie formula — professional woman finds love around Christmastime upon going back to the town where she grew up — the 23-part “Add to Heart” lets viewers follow the narrative, while also getting a chance to purchase the products they see on screen.

As the trailer for the series puts it: “It’s not a romcom, it’s RomCommerce.”

“The shoppable series follows New York designer Jessica as she returns to her hometown for the holidays,” the release said. “After losing her luggage on her travels, she visits her local Walmart, where she bumps into an old flame Javi. Between the town festivities, decorating and shopping, they start to rekindle their spark. How will it end? What will you shop? Tune in to find out how the story unfolds.”

The shoppable series will be released on TikTok, Roku and YouTube, and on Walmart’s social channels, beginning Dec. 2, with the remainder debuting Dec. 5 and Dec. 8.

This effort follows Walmart’s recent announcement that it was collaborating with NBCUniversal’s Peacock platform for another shoppable TV offering.

That partnership lets fans of “Below Deck Mediterranean,” a reality series about the crew of a super-yacht, buy products inspired by the show during “shoppable episodes.”

“When customers find something they love during an ad break, they can simply press arrows on the remote to browse the interactive onscreen product carousel and scan a QR code to easily checkout on Walmart.com,” Walmart said in a statement.

According to Walmart, the collaboration fuses its eCommerce capabilities and NBCUniversal’s artificial intelligence (AI) technology, capable of identifying objects seen on the show.

These efforts are targeting the 70% of shoppers who said that advertisements, influencers and media played a major role in shaping holiday purchasing decisions, according to recent research by PYMNTS Intelligence.

“Delving deeper into this data, PYMNTS found 28% of consumers said the media had no impact on their buying decisions,” that report said.

“Meanwhile, one-third of shoppers acknowledged the influence of website advertising, with 17% regarding it as the primary factor guiding their Black Friday purchases. Additionally, TV advertising closely followed, influencing 31% of consumers, with 17% of this group identifying it as the foremost influence.”

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