BENTONVILLE, AR – In its latest effort to add tech savvy and potentially transform consumers’ experience of shopping, Walmart has reportedly acquired Spatialand—a small virtual reality startup that participated in the retailer’s Store No. 8 incubator.

“Last year, our team set out to explore the transformational effects of virtual reality in commerce, and we uncovered an underlying ecosystem of companies and technologies that when applied to retail, created a game-changing customer journey,” the Walmart-owned incubator noted in a blog post. “This realization led our entrance into the space, which culminated at our VR gala, Innov8, where alongside Kim Cooper and her brilliant team at Spatialand and our consultant, Jeremy Welt, we created a proof of concept VR experience for how we envision millions may shop in the future.”

According to a report from tech news source Recode, Walmart has acquired the company for undisclosed terms. Spatialand Founder Kim Cooper and nearly a dozen employees will join Walmart with Katie Finnegan—the Principle and Founder of Store No. 8 and Walmart’s VP of Incubation—serving as interim CEO of the company.

The news source noted that Finnegan has revealed very little about the nature of Spatialand’s work with Walmart—saying that the company’s involvement in retail experiences may not be implemented in mainstream retail for five to ten years. Finnegan also noted that Spatialand may not reveal the nature of its current work with Walmart for more than a year.

How will this acquisition transform the future of fresh food retail? It seems only time will tell. AndNowUKnow will continue to report with updates.

Walmart