Dive Brief:

• Walmart today (Dec. 14) announced it is teaming with livestreaming social commerce provider TalkShopLive, per a press release emailed to Marketing Dive. The partnership will enable Walmart to provide shoppable content through embeddable videos across platforms and properties.
• All brands distributed by Walmart can use the TalkShopLive platform, which is fully integrated with Walmart's commerce API. Along with a suite of holiday programming, in-video selling is available on Walmart.com, TalkShop.live, MSN Shopping tab and other product partner sites.
• The partnership is Walmart's latest move that seeks to bridge content with commerce as more consumers turn to social commerce and livestream shopping during the pandemic. TalkShopLive has partnerships with Condé Nast, Hearst and Meredith publications as well as individual brands and creators.

Dive Insight:

Walmart has made its second bet on livestreaming and social commerce in as many months with a TalkShopLive partnership designed to remove friction in the path to purchase. TalkShopLive's proprietary technology allows transactions to take place within an embeddable video player, making it easier for Walmart and the brands it carries to marry content with commerce.

"Walmart continues to be focused on meeting customers where they are while making it easier to shop," Casey Schlaybaugh, vice president of brand at Walmart, said in the press release. "Powering our commerce API with TalkShopLive will provide customers with a seamless checkout experience anywhere online while being entertained."

Walmart has diversified its efforts in content and commerce as it looks to engage with consumers around a trend that has accelerated during the pandemic. The retailer plans to host more than 30 livestreaming events throughout the holiday season with partners including BuyWith, BuzzFeed and Tasty.

Last month, Walmart hosted the first shoppable livestream on Twitter with a Cyber Week effort hosted by Jason Derulo. Previously, it ran a first-of-its-kind shoppable livestream on TikTok during the 2020 holiday season. Being an early mover on different platforms could help Walmart shore up its capabilities as it takes on competitors like Amazon.

Walmart is also experimenting with AR shopping via Yahoo and with Facebook. 

TalkShopLive's tech will allow in-video selling on a variety of platforms and publications, including leading gaming and entertainment site IGN. Upcoming TalkShopLive events will feature celebrities Rachael Ray, Drew Barrymore, Taraji P. Henson and Gabrielle Union, and points to the trend of celebrity- or creator-led livestreams.

TalkShopLive was founded in 2018 and has a $74 million valuation. The platform in February announced that it raised $3 million in seed funding from Spero Ventures and other investors.