Are retailers benching the metaverse for Super Bowl LVII?

It’s not just the down market: While brands might want to avoid consumers conflating “metaverse” with “cryptocurrency,” that’s not the only reason many are steering clear of virtual activations this year.

In February 2021, given the realities of the pandemic, virtual experiences got something of a boost, said Azher Ahmed, head of digital at Octagon. “The behaviors that have been built during those lean years of everybody being virtual have made it more friendly and familiar for people to engage with these things,” Ahmed told Retail Brew.

But this year, with fans back in stadiums, metaverse experiences need to go above and beyond 2022, when many people were still staying home due to the pandemic, he explained. “I view that as a challenge of the bar being higher creatively, strategically.”