Walmart is tapping into the influencer economy with the launch of its new content creator program, leading some to wonder if the company will extend opportunities to current Walmart employees who already have sizable social media followings.
In a recent video from TikToker Kristy (@asap.kristy), who has more than 50,000 TikTok followers, she jokes about applying to the program even though she already works for the company.
“When you apply to the Walmart creator program and they ask ‘are you a Walmart associate,’” Kristy captioned her video, which shows her sitting down and slowly flipping around her Walmart name tag of a screengrab of the application.
On Oct. 18, Walmart announced the launch of its new program, which is currently in its beta phase. The company said the program is a “one-stop portal that makes it easy for creators to monetize shoppable products from the retailer.”
“We know our customers are inspired by the content and stories they see from their favorite influencers in their social feeds every day,” William White, Walmart’s chief marketing officer, said in a statement. “This next step in our strategy will help fuel inspiration for our customers by connecting their favorite creators directly with our brand and the brands they love at Walmart.”
Walmart did not respond to a request for comment about employees applying to its content creator program or the length of the program’s current beta phase.
The company appeared to have launched a TikTok channel geared toward Walmart Creators, which features some of their initial partners including Kiva Brent (@diywithkb), @devanondeck, and @lingandlamb.
Through the program, creators will have access to “tens of thousands of products” and will have the chance to earn revenue and commission on sales. (There’s also no cap on commissions, according to Walmart.) Creators are free to share product links on any social platform and can receive product recommendations based on their interests. They can also track their performance through Walmart Creator’s analytics dashboard.
In the comments to Kristy’s video, some were curious if she actually followed through and applied to the program, while others questioned if it would be a conflict of interest.
“I work for Walmart and I put it in my application,” one commenter said.
The Daily Dot reached out to @asap.kristy via TikTok comment and Instagram direct message.
