E.l.f. has become the first beauty brand to test real-world commerce in the Roblox virtual world, via the platform’s collaboration with Walmart. E.l.f. has created a virtual kiosk within its E.l.f. UP! experience on Roblox, where U.S. visitors ages 13 and older can purchase a Roblox-exclusive limited-edition physical product — an E.l.f. UP! Pets hoodie — as well as a selection of beauty products including lip balms and sunscreen.
Orders are handled by a Walmart API and follow a familiar checkout flow, and users who purchase an item also will receive a “virtual twin” for use on Roblox. To create the digital twins, E.l.f. collaborated with Roblox creators to enhance each item with extra features only possible in the virtual world, like wigs, wings and more.
“E.l.f. continues to break new ground on Roblox with its thoughtful iterations to the community experience and exclusive offerings tailored to our platform,” said Stephanie Latham, VP of Global Brand Partnerships at Roblox in a statement. “We are in the early days of testing commerce on Roblox, and we are excited to continue taking steps with brands like E.l.f. toward building the future of shopping, making it immersive, 3D and social. Our vision is to ultimately enable brands and creators to turn their incredible brand affinity and user engagement on the platform into a seamless shopping experience for their new and existing audiences. The shoppable future of Roblox means that brands can immerse communities into their stories — and enable customers to complete their journey with a purchase while socializing with their friends.”
E.l.f.’s first phygital Roblox shopping experience was designed to celebrate the brand’s commitment to being cruelty-free. The limited-edition E.l.f. UP! Pets hoodie created for this initiative features a fan-favorite pet from the experience, and E.l.f. will make a separate $50,000 donation to the Humane Society of the United States to reinforce its support of animal welfare.
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E.l.f has long been a pioneer in the virtual world of Roblox, with the brand’s community already racking up more than 12 million visits. The E.l.f. UP! Experience, which launched in November 2023, takes users on a personalized journey to become successful entrepreneurs and cultural changemakers by running startups that represent the places and causes they care most about. Since its launch, the E.l.f. UP! experience on Roblox has garnered a 96% positivity rating and has given over 1 million free virtual items to Roblox users, making it one of the biggest providers of free limited-edition virtual items on the platform.
“E.l.f. UP! has been lightning in a bottle since day one and continues to surpass all expectations, especially among our Gen Z community,” said Kory Marchisotto, Chief Marketing Officer of E.l.f. Beauty in a statement. “Testing commerce on Roblox is the next evolution in our journey of merging beauty with immersive platforms. We are teaching the Roblox community — and communities in digital spaces everywhere — about social commerce with purpose. Our community deeply values our superpower of cruelty-free products. Through the E.l.f. UP! Pet Adoption Center, we’ve learned how essential this superpower is [in] shaping our approach in this space.”
