Walmart strikes a deal with Buzzfeed's Tasty for in-app purchasing

US retail giant Walmart has announced a new partnership with Tasty, one of the world’s largest social food networks.

Targeting social media-savvy shoppers, the partnership will allow Walmart to sell kitchen tools, appliances, and eventually food directly from the Tasty app.

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Starting next year, Walmart.com and Jet2.com will integrate groceries with Tasty’s 2,000-plus recipe videos. Walmart shoppers will be able to add items for store pickup.

Tasty, a division of Buzzfeed that primarily produces recipe videos, is the largest franchise Facebook. It has more than 90 million followers and has garnered more than 65 billion page views.

Walmart’s integration with Buzzfeed’s Tasty app, whose recipe videos typically see viewership in the millions, will expose the retailer to new customers.

In the last financial quarter, Walmart’s e-commerce sales increased 50% and so shoppable recipes are seen as the latest online promotion aimed at reaching new customers.

Sumaiya Balbale, VP of e-commerce, mobile and digital marketing at Walmart, described the partnership as a "natural fit".

"By introducing the ability to shop for products directly from the Tasty app, this partnership combines content and commerce to create a convenient and fun experience for users," she said.

Balbale said Walmart and Tasty have been in talks about the partnership for months.

Walmart has expanded its online services in the past few years in a bid to compete with e-commerce giant Amazon.

This latest move may also come in response to Amazon’s recent partnerships with recipe platforms All Recipes and Fexy Media.