Walmart Launches Shoppable Series for Sports Fans and Hobby Enthusiasts

Walmart aims to reach sports fans and hobby enthusiasts with a new weekly series streaming exclusively on Walmart Live and featuring shoppable content.

The “Collector’s Night” series is powered by live commerce platform TalkShopLive and presented in partnership with sports card and collectibles community WeTheHobby, the companies said in a Wednesday (Sept. 3) press release.

Mayank Hajela, GM Collectibles at Walmart U.S., said in the release that there has been a surge in demand for collectibles.

“‘Collector’s Night’ is a powerful step forward in making Walmart a true destination for this growing category,” Hajela said.

Justin Breton, director of brand experiences and strategy at Walmart, said in the release that the series marks the retailer’s expansion into “one of the most dynamic spaces in retail today.”

“It’s another way Walmart is surprising customers with offerings they may not have expected to find here — and we’re just getting started,” Breton said.

Walmart and TalkShopLive said in December 2021 that they partnered on a “hassle-free retail and content distribution agreement” enabling fans and shoppers to buy what’s appearing on-screen, without being redirected to another page and having to miss out on the show.

“You click and you purchase right from the video player,” TalkShopLive CEO and Co-founder Bryan Moore told PYMNTS at the time. “There’s no click-through [to another site or page]; you’re not driving back to Walmart.com to buy it. There’s no click out. You literally buy it right then and there within the video player, so that’s why we convert more sales.”

In February 2022, Walmart announced plans to deepen its commitment to livestreamed content with a slate of eight recurring programs and credited the success of the initial live, shoppable content piloted with TalkShopLive for its decision to expand the partnership.

In an early project focused on the collectibles market, Walmart added Collector Shop to Walmart Marketplace, the retailer’s eCommerce platform for third-party sellers. Collector Shop focuses on collectibles like action figures, dolls and trading cards.

In October 2022, Walmart teamed up with NECA (National Entertainment Collectibles Association) to launch a digital collectibles platform called AutoT that is focused on pop culture figures and collectibles.