Walmart is testing an idea in partnership with Mattel in Toronto where shoppers will encounter a virtual store in a subway station.
The event is being described as Canada’s first pop-up virtual toy store, enabling QR code-based shopping of Mattel brands — including hot toys from Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price and Thomas & Friends brands — to holiday shoppers.
The pop-up is located in the city’s massive PATH underground walkway, a retail concourse that connects downtown buildings and and an array of businesses to Toronto’s Union Station rail commuter hub. It may find a ready pool of virtual shoppers, as it will run for four weeks in the same location where Wells.ca tested a QR-enabled store in April.
The virtual toy store “features two walls of three-dimensional toy images,†according to a press release. Shoppers simply scan a QR code with their smartphone to purchase the hottest Mattel holiday toys from Walmart Canada, who also provides free shipping. While traditional gift-givers can still purchase toys online or in-store, the virtual toy store aims to revolutionize what it means to window shop.
