What is Walled Garden in Retail? Explained

A walled garden in the retail industry describes a controlled ecosystem, often digital, where a platform tightly regulates the content, services, or products users can access. This closed environment is designed to keep users within the platform's boundaries, limiting interactions with external content or services. In retail, walled gardens are observed in e-commerce platforms or online marketplaces that restrict certain functionalities or integrations to maintain control over the user experience and drive engagement within their ecosystem. While providing a curated environment, walled gardens can pose challenges related to competition and user freedom.