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Roblox is expanding its digital-to-physical commerce capabilities in a major way, thanks to a new partnership with Shopify, which will give customers the ability to browse for and purchase products — all inside the game.
Why It Hits: Brands are on an endless hunt to meet young people (and their parents’ wallets) wherever they are, so literally gamifying the shopping experience could be the bullseye for a major jump in revenue.
Between the Lines: Roblox and Shopify may be the most consequential ecommerce collab of the year.
- The partnership, which is set to roll out soon and expand in early 2025, allows users to select a “Buy Now” prompt within Roblox. That pulls up a product page where users can see the IRL product, choose their specifications, and then complete their purchase.
- Customers, who have to be over the age of 13, will be able to use any payment accepted by the seller.
- But this is just the start: Roblox says that developers will one day be able to sell physical products, add a rewards program to digital stores, and more in-game tools to handle other retail needs.
The Future: Over the past few years, Roblox has become a major platform both for young people to hang out and for retail brands to create buzzy marketing experiences. Roblox has been testing ecommerce capabilities this year with Walmart and e.l.f. Beauty, so things must be going well. If sales through Shopify look good, expect every brand to break ground in the game… and maybe even hire high-schoolers to act as digital salespeople.
Go Deeper: The Verge chats with Roblox CEO David Baszucki about the future of the platform.
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