A Walmart Supercenter is a fluorescent palace of American consumption. For American shoppers, it’s a utilitarian one-stop shop where groceries, TVs, tires and just about everything else are under one huge roof. However, for some international World Cup fans, it is a viral tourist sensation. Many fans decided to visit Walmart during their stay in
A Walmart Supercenter is a fluorescent palace of American consumption.
For American shoppers, it’s a utilitarian one-stop shop where groceries, TVs, tires and just about everything else are under one huge roof.
However, for some international World Cup fans, it is a viral tourist sensation. Many fans decided to visit Walmart during their stay in the United States. Even Spanish soccer star Lamine Yamal shopped there between games.
Walmart said it organized the tours to get all the attention. Over the last month, the retailer has worked with the Spanish professional The football league, LaLiga, will offer guided tours of the stores along with appearances by some of the biggest names in football.
I attended the final tour at the Walmart store in East Brunswick, New Jersey, on Saturday, about 29 hours before Spain and Argentina kicked off the 2026 World Cup final.
On the tour, guests received VIP lanyards, gift bags and small “passports” to stamp as they toured a carefully curated version of the Walmart experience.
Top highlights: peanut butter, ground beef, football jerseys, and of course, ranch dressing.
The surprising star of American hypermarkets
Walmart hosted about two dozen guests on a store tour Saturday. Ben Shimkus/Business Insider
As a football lover (eh, Soccer lovers?) Travelers criss-crossed the country for this year’s World Cup games, some of the most ubiquitous elements of American consumer culture inspired genuine awe: a cheap Waffle House breakfast, the sprawling excess of a Buc-ee’s gas station, and the giant aquariums inside Bass Pro Shops.
The videos went viral after a crowd of Australian national team fans turned the produce section of a Dallas Walmart into an impromptu party. Dressed in yellow and green T-shirts, they exchanged the familiar “Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!” sing a new chorus: “Let’s go to Walmart!”
The tours were Walmart’s effort to turn that organic wonder into an official welcome and highlight its unique position as a cornerstone of American consumerism. and a place to get ranch dressing.
there was only one Surprise on the tour I attended: the passport holders I spoke to were Americans.
Passports, ranch clothing and rain.
The Walmart tour ended at 11 in the morning. The outdoor event was interrupted by a storm. Ben Shimkus/Business Insider
Walmart said it expected international visitors at the East Brunswick event.
The store is located about 30 miles from MetLife Stadium, where Argentine star and all-around legend Lionel Messi was set to chase a second World Cup title the next day. LaLiga’s outdoor event, which included games, free food and live music, also promised appearances by retired Spanish star Carles Puyol and Colombian striker Radamel Falcao.
About four hours before the player meet-and-greet, Walmart representatives handed guests gift bags containing about $35 in merchandise and small paper “passports.”
The first stop was the condiment aisle, where guides introduced ranch dressing and peanut butter as American staples. Guests received a stamp in their passports before continuing.
Next came the meat department, where the ground beef got a steak-shaped stamp. We stopped near the clothing store, where Walmart displayed football-themed T-shirts and added a final mark to each passport.
Finally, we ended up back in the produce section, where Walmart highlighted its best-selling product in the entire United States: bananas. Walmart says it sells 4.46 billion bananas each year.
While Walmart said they were expecting international travelers in New Jersey, they weren’t the ones who showed up Saturday. Everyone I spoke to said they lived in the United States.
Karl Marttz, who lives 40 minutes away in northern New Jersey, took his children on the tour while it was raining outside.
“As a person who lives near another Walmart, it was… uh,” he told Business Insider after concluding the tour. He was there mainly for a meet and greet.
A Walmart spokesperson told Business Insider that they created the tours to “be relevant to new or returning fans” and that they were “happy with all the positive feedback.”
Shortly after the tour, the weather took a turn for the worse. A storm broke out and organizers moved the meeting from the parking lot to the store.
That put soccer stars under the same huge roof as Americans who now have passports and Walmart products.
Almost everyone I spoke to said they planned to watch the final on television the next day. A woman told the group she was going to MetLife Stadium to see Messi in person.
“I’m very excited,” she said.