Insider Intel: Selfies at Walmart
The Clorox Co. earlier this year depicted a QR code on a custom display at Walmart to direct shoppers to an augmented reality (AR) quiz that would determine their spring cleaning personality — and the products to match.
“We recently had an opportunity to include an additional call-to-action on our in-store display for spring cleaning at Walmart stores nationwide,” says Julie Nelson, omni marketing lead at Clorox. “We have been experimenting with augmented reality over the last year and decided to use this opportunity to link to an engaging mobile experience for in-store shoppers.”
The “Fresh start. Great clean” half-pallet display merchandised Clorox and Scentiva sprays and wipes, employing a “scan to activate the experience” message. The QR code linked to the quiz on Instagram or Facebook, requiring access to phone cameras in selfie mode. The quiz then depicted statements, such as “My home is my sanctuary,” atop a user’s head and had them choose between two responses — in this case “yes” or “I wish it was!” — which they could select by tilting their head in the direction of their chosen prompt. Participants could add effects to the images, and save or share them.
“The idea for a spring cleaning quiz came directly from the desire to build something selfie-facing in augmented reality,” Nelson says. “We know from previous augmented reality work that selfie filters, predominantly used on social platforms like Instagram, are a common user behavior that people understand, love to interact with and love to share. So, we started there with our concepting.”
The quiz sorted consumers into four personalities, each with a custom call-to-action to access a shopping list of products to buy through Walmart.com:
• Procrastinators were told, “Cleaning shouldn’t be a chore. Clorox makes it easy,” and were recommended Clorox Scentiva multisurface spray, a 3-in-1 toilet wand starter kit, disinfecting wipes and disinfecting mist.
• Enthusiasts that “love to clean” were encouraged to “try something different,” such as disinfecting all-purpose cleaner, disinfecting wet mopping cloths, the 3-in-1 toilet wand starter kit and a three-pack of disinfecting wipes.
• Entertainers that want their home “to smell as good as it looks” were recommended Scentiva disinfecting wipes along with the multisurface spray, toilet wand and disinfecting mist.
• Protectors were assured that “These Clorox disinfecting products kill 99.9% of germs” and recommended Clorox Clean-Up cleaner with bleach, disinfecting wipes, mopping cloths and the toilet cleaning kit.
Users who didn’t want to take the quiz could simply scroll down to see all four archetypes and access each shopping list.
Clorox decided to use a QR code rather than in-store physical markers to power the experience so that it would also be accessible through paid media, Nelson says. Mobile and social ads, which opened the filter directly within Instagram or Facebook, led to more than 53,000 engagements. Nelson also says that 17.5% of Walmart shoppers who scanned the QR code took some form of action on the website beyond just viewing or scrolling, spending an average of seven minutes engaging with the experience.
“The campaign itself was very successful at driving shopper engagement,” Nelson says. “We got some great learnings in this space and look forward to exploring future opportunities to incorporate AR into the retail environment, displays and perhaps even products themselves.”