Walmart on Thursday launched an online "Wonder Lab" where kids can virtually unbox and play withtoys .- The site is designed to give kids a way to safely test out toys amid the pandemic. It also serves as an entertaining distraction.
- Walmart also just unveiled its annual list of the top toys for the holiday season.
Walmart launched a new website this week that allows kids to virtually unbox and play with toys.
The retailer created the interactive site, called "Walmart Wonder Lab," to give kids a way to test out toys safely ahead of the holidays.
"In years past, we had more in-store events for kids to play with toys and take them out of box," Brad Bedwell, Walmart's merchandising director of preschool toys, told Business Insider. "But given the current environment, we wanted to replace that with a virtual experience that they could do in the safety of their own homes and still have fun and interact and experience the toys before they add them to their wishlist."
The website also serves as an entertaining distraction for busy parents looking to occupy their kids' attention. It may also help parents determine which toys hold their kids' attention the longest, are therefore may be worthy of buying.
After entering the site, kids can select a toy and then click specific buttons to choose how to unbox the item.Once the toy is unwrapped, kids can choose how to play with each toy. Their selections will prompt the toy to behave in different ways.
Each item's page in the Wonder Lab contains a link to a corresponding listing on Walmart's website where parents can make purchases. (Parents must input their date of birth to be taken to Walmart's site, to avoid kids making their own purchases).
Walmart released the Wonder Lab site on the same day that it unveiled its annual list of the top toys for the holiday season.
The list of 36 toys includes items like a $59 Vtech "creator cam" for kids to create their own video content, scooters, hoverboards, and a $28.82 "Gotta Go Flamingo" that "poops" in a toilet after being fed.