How Walmart’s shoppable rom-com bridges holiday content, commerce

Many consumers get swept up in romantic comedies across the holiday season. Look no further than the Hallmark Channel, which is plagued by movies like “A Not So Royal Christmas,” “Christmas with a Kiss” and “My Norwegian Holiday” this time of yr. A recent campaign from Walmart tests whether the favored genre might be an inspiration point for shopping, mixing story-driven marketing content with shoppable capabilities which were a growing focus for the big-box store because it tries to adapt to the digital era.  

“This is the following iteration of something that we’ve been doing for the last couple of years around bringing commerce to content,” said Walmart U.S. CMO William White in an interview. “That’s been a crucial a part of our marketing journey: how we shorten that distance between inspiration and buy.”

Over the following few weeks, the retailer will roll out a 23-part industrial series called “Add to Heart,” a pun on the add-to-cart feature. The “RomCommerce” effort running on TikTok, Roku, YouTube and Walmart’s owned social channels follows the story of Jessica, a New York designer who returns to her hometown and, after a run of mishaps, rekindles love with an past love named Javi. 

That premise will sound familiar to genre aficionados, but “Add to Heart” carries a further layer of interactivity for consumers on the hunt for gifts. Much of what’s shown on screen, from the furniture to the outfits that the characters wear, is shoppable, with orders sourced and fulfilled by Walmart. In total, the series showcases an assortment of 330 products that are supposed to strike a balance of “inspiration and impulse” and land at an appealing price point, based on White. The executive noted that the messaging doesn’t put an “overt” emphasis on value, though that may be a theme amplified in other points of Walmart’s holiday playbook.

While “Add to Heart” is supposed to hold a broad audience appeal, White acknowledged that specific consumers gravitate toward connected commerce experiences. Shoppable holiday activations on TikTok, including livestreams and creator partnerships, have been a serious a part of Walmart’s overtures to Gen Z in recent times. 

“Certainly, the users inside different platforms skew in a different way demographically,” said White. “That said, I do think that the shoppable social environments are more Gen Z and millennial than they’re other demographics.”     

Bridging content and commerce

“Add to Heart” takes advantage of TikTok’s shoppable video format and Roku’s Ok to Text feature that lets viewers press a button on their distant to learn more a couple of product and make a purchase order. Walmart last yr began experimenting with Roku’s commerce-enabled CTV products.

The effort also represents TikTok’s first fully shoppable holiday series, aligning with the ByteDance-owned app’s revamped push to get social commerce to take off within the U.S, a market where the trend has yet to meaningfully take hold. Walmart in a press release cited Mintel data that indicates 58% of U.S. consumers are concerned with shopping via social media this yr.

Each of the “Add to Heart” episodes will run as paid ads on TikTok and live in a dedicated content hub on Roku. Consumers can track Jessica and Javi’s journey in its entirety or pick up the thread piecemeal, as each installment is supposed to be engaging in its own right, White said. The campaign was made with Publicis Groupe agencies, including Fallon, Publicis NY, The Community, Contender and Digitas, and production partner Merman.

The first batch of episodes drops Dec. 2, followed by future releases on Dec. 5 and Dec. 8. Walmart on Nov. 30 can even host a live premiere event with appearances by real-life couples that met at its stores. Beyond driving transactions for the crucial Q4 period, a bigger goal of the campaign is centered on strengthening Walmart’s online positioning. 

“Ultimately, I believe it’s a chance to reframe for people, ‘Who is Walmart?’” said White.