Walmart Welcomes Holiday Season with New Upbeat Campaign, Collections

Retailer adds holistic seasonal programs with omnichannel integration

11/1/2021

As November opens, Walmart is launching a new omnichannel holiday campaign and collaborating with rock star Elton John on a novel eyewear collection.

As a new and different holiday season unfolds, Walmart is launching a program tied to current consumer sentiments and plans for more in-person celebrations and thoughtful gift giving. The retailer’s “Joy. Fully” campaign utilizes several channels and platforms to help shoppers make the most out the upcoming season.

Among other elements, the “Joy. Fully” program includes holiday shoppable livestreams with content from influencers, publishers and other figures. The retailer’s social media platforms will also include more shoppable recipes and entertaining ideas from supplier partners like General Mills, Kraft and PepsiCo.

An augmented reality (AR) experience is part of the campaign as well, as Walmart teams up with Facebook to roll out a first-to-market AR lens retail experience designed to make holiday research and shopping experiences more enjoyable. Shoppers can use the interactive experience to browse holiday gift items, identifying items that appeal to them by their facial expressions and then shopping for products through Walmart’s Gift Finder experience.

In other news, Walmart and Sam’s Club are doing a duet with a musical icon to lure shoppers to their on-site vision centers. The retailers have partnered with rocker Elton John – known for his decades-long penchant for donning unique eyeglasses – to offer a new line of eye frames.

Launching this week in store locations around the country, the Elton John Eyewear collection includes 60 frames that were named by John, such as the “Rocketman” style and an “A-List” design. The frames will retail between $95 and $100 and are available in prescription, non-prescription, sun and reader forms. Continuing its support of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Walmart will donate at least $1 million annually from the new collection to contribute to that cause.

Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart operates more than 10,500 stores under 48 banners in 24 countries, and e-commerce websites, employing 2.2 million-plus associates worldwide. Walmart U.S. is No. 1 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, while Walmart-owned Sam’s Club ranks No. 9 on the list.