Walmart, Netflix open shopping hub to jump on hype for shows like 'Squid Game'

Debuting in time for the holidays, the streamer's first digital storefront with a national retailer will let fans vote on what merchandise they'd like to see next.

What happened

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Why it matters

Walmart and Netflix's new merchandise hub sits at the intersection of commerce and fan culture, a potentially ripe area for business as the pandemic shores up both streaming figures and online shopping habits.

It's a major step by Netflix to expand its revenue amid fiercer competition from rival platforms like Disney+, HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video. The streamer, which now wields more than 200 million global subscribers, has been pushing to diversify in other ways, including through an ambitious plan to crack into video games. But e-commerce might be the more surefire bet. It's also an area where Netflix already has some experience through its own merchandise portal where visitors can currently buy apparel based on "Squid Game" and other series. Netflix.shop went live in the U.S. in June.

For Walmart, which is also focused on driving e-commerce sales, the tie-up presents an opportunity to better tap into consumer culture, an increasingly important mandate for brands trying to stay on top of trends in the fast-moving social media age. Planned offerings like T-shirts based on "Squid Game" are indicative of this mindset. The dystopian South Korean show, which depicts debt-laden people competing in gruesome competitions for the chance to win a cash prize, is gearing up to be the biggest surprise hit in Netflix's history, driven in part by positive word-of-mouth.

This news brief is based on reporting published by Marketing Dive on 2021-10-11. The original report is linked below.