The metaverse is a tempting playground for retailers that want to test innovative marketing and selling techniques in the virtual world. But are European consumers ready for it? Here’s what we know.

People in the UK show the most awareness of the metaverse

More than a quarter (37%) of UK adult internet users surveyed in Forrester’s December 2021 Consumer Energy Index and Retail Pulse Survey said they are familiar with the metaverse. Nearly a third (28%) of UK online adults are interested in the promises of the metaverse, per Forrester.

In France and Germany, awareness is lower. About a third (30%) of France’s adult population claims to understand the metaverse, according to February 2022 research by YouGov, and less than a fifth (19%) of online adults in Germany know what the term “metaverse” implies, based on March 2022 research by YouGov and Statista.

Across the pond, over a third (36%) of US online adults know a lot or partially about the metaverse, as surveyed by Morning Consult in March 2022.