How Roblox’s Shopify partnership lays the groundwork for e-commerce in the metaverse

How it works is a Roblox user will see a “Buy Now” prompt next to a virtual product — say, a T-shirt or a pair of sunglasses or a tube of lipstick. When clicked upon, the prompt brings up a product page where users can see images of the real-life item. From there, the process resembles any other e-commerce site. Users can select different colors or sizes and then complete their purchase. At the start, only U.S. users who are 13 or older will be able to buy something.

It’s all part of Roblox’s plan to become a dominant e-commerce player by turning its gaming platform into a three-dimensional virtual shopping mall. Earlier this year, Walmart started to sell physical goods directly to users inside Roblox as part of a pilot test, the first of multiple e-commerce experiments, per Digiday. In July, E.l.f. Beauty became the second brand to launch real-world e-commerce on Roblox. Finally, Roblox started selling real-life movie tickets to “Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice” in August through a virtual box office. In the long term, Roblox expects creators of Roblox experiences, including brands, to be able to sell any item available at a major online retailer within the platform, the company said. 

“Our vision for the Roblox economy is that it will ultimately model the physical world, with the ability to go above and beyond by overcoming physical limitations,” Stephanie Latham, vp of global brand partnerships and advertising at Roblox, told Modern Retail in an email statement. “We believe this vision holds true for shopping on Roblox, as well.”

E-commerce is a “logical extension” for Roblox, according to Latham. That’s because major brands and retailers have already piled into the platform with their own immersive experiences to promote their IP among younger customers. It’s a trend that accelerated in 2021 and 2022 when the concept of the metaverse took corporate America by storm. In these metaverse-like environments, users can play games, earn promo codes and buy digital twins of real-life products from their favorite brands. Users bought nearly 1.6 billion digital fashion items on Roblox during the first three quarters of 2023, up 15% from the same period a year prior, according to the company. 

But for all the metaverse hype, few brands have actually found ways to make money off these virtual worlds. As such, numerous companies have walked back their metaverse strategies in favor of buzzier trends, like artificial intelligence.

The introduction of real-life e-commerce on Roblox could be a sign that’s about to change.

Certainly, other companies have tried to sell physical goods in digital worlds. For example, virtual stores like J.Crew’s virtual beach house or Elizabeth Arden’s digital Fifth Avenue salon surged in popularity in the wake of the pandemic. Even as far back as 2005, Pizza Hut tested out selling pizzas via the game Everquest. More recently, Walmart launched its own 3D e-commerce platform.

Brands are already selling virtual items inside Roblox, but until recently, users could not purchase physical items and have them shipped to their doorstep through the platform. 

“Commerce opens up a whole new opportunity for brands and retailers to engage existing and new fans with their IP,” said Latham. “We already have retailers and brands like E.l.f. and Walmart on the platform, and as commerce ramps up in the future, they see an opportunity to turn their brand affinity and consumer engagement on Roblox into an effortless shopping experience.”

Gen Z is the clear target. According to Roblox’s 2023 Digital Expression, Fashion & Beauty Trends Report, 84% of Gen Z users active on Roblox said they’re at least “somewhat likely” to consider a brand in the physical world once they try on or wear its item on their avatars virtually, including 50% who are “very” or “extremely” likely to do so. More than half of the company’s 80 million daily active users are Gen Z, as of the second quarter of 2024. 

All told, this is potentially an attractive opportunity for brands “because of the growing spending power of Gen Z and eventually Gen Alpha,” said Melissa Minkow, director of retail strategy at digital consultancy firm CI&T. “This is really an investment in a future consumer that will have more and more spending capabilities and will be interested in the metaverse.”

For Shopify, which made a name for itself catering to scrappy, direct-to-consumer brands, partnering with Roblox stands to give its client base of small business owners greater reach. “This is a great way to democratize the retailers that are in Roblox because previously it was only ever going to be the biggest brands that had access to Roblox,” said Minkow. “This is giving those smaller brands a chance at that audience.” 

But what would incentivize someone to buy something in Roblox as opposed to a retailer’s direct-to-consumer website? Over the last few months, Roblox has been testing commerce opportunities on Roblox across various product categories with brands like Walmart, E.l.f and Warner Bros to gauge how Gen Z users over the age of 13 would shop on the platform, according to Latham. Following those tests, she said Roblox saw “high interest from both brands and creators” in e-commerce on Roblox.  

Minkow doesn’t believe metaverse-like platforms like Roblox will become the primary way people shop. “But brands are realizing that there’s a growing need for them to be there,” she said. “Brands are realizing that this is going to become a table stakes channel for them, but table stakes doesn’t have to mean majority or even that large of a part.”

While users go to sites like Amazon when they have shopping on the brain, e-commerce is more likely to be about discoverability rather than intent on Roblox. 

“We envision this way of shopping to be a lot more similar for our users to a fun and social experience of visiting a mall with friends — unlike browsing or scrolling through items on your own,” said Latham. “Users come across shopping opportunities on Roblox while already immersed in environments tied to their interests – be it exploring their favorite virtual town or competing in a driving simulator or a fashion contest.”