The hype surrounding non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and metaverse environments has waxed and waned. Media attention increased dramatically in late 2021 after Facebook changed its name to Meta and sales of virtual art made big profits. This initial fervor subsided rapidly with consumer search volume for NFTs and the term “metaverse” subsiding substantially in 2022.

It is still difficult to determine what the total market opportunity is with these technologies. Gartner sees metaverse and Web3 in retail as more than 10 years away from reaching a point of adoption and use maturity, while NFTs in retail are five to 10 years from now. This hesitation is due in part to low consumer demand. A January 2022 survey of the Gartner consumer community found that few consumers understand…