Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) exploded onto the global digital landscape in 2020, spurred by pandemic-related lockdowns and government stimulus (Ossinger, 2021). An NFT is a unit of data stored on a blockchain that represents or authenticates digital or physical items (Nadini, 2021). Since it resides on a blockchain, NFTs carry the benefits of decentralization, anti-tampering, and traceability (Joy et al., 2022). Fashion brands quickly capitalized on these features, launching fashion NFT collections and garnering significant profits from the sale of fashion NFTs in 2021 (Zhao, 2021). For example, Nike’s December 2021 acquisition of RTFKT (pronounced “artifact”) resulted in USD 185 million in sales less than a year after their acquisition (Marr, 2022).

Today, the metaverse is everywhere; it has become a major buzzword. The term was first coined in an American writer’s 1992 science fiction novel, Snow Crash, as a portmanteau of meta (Greek prefix meaning beyond) and universe. Nearly three decades later today, it is no longer the setting of a science fiction epic. Rather, it is becoming as real as the physical world. In the current time, the metaverse is used as a concept to describe a seamless convergence of the physical and digital worlds, or a virtual community where people can work, play-to-earn, transact and socialize (J.P. Morgan, 2022).

The social media influencer (SMI) phenomenon is attracting attention from academia and business. A SMI refers to an individual who has accumulated a sizable social network of followers and thereby has influence over others (Ki et al., 2020). Due to the influence SMIs possess, an increasing number of brands are approaching SMIs and asking them to create and share branded content that includes product placements or brand recommendations. This practice is commonly referred to as influencer marketing. Reflecting the trend of influencer marketing, this study investigated: (1) whether consumers are ‘inspired-by’ SMIs and ‘inspired-to’ adopt the exemplars of SMIs (e.g., SMIs’ lifestyles, styles, and recommendations) as their social defaults that provide desirable standards that consumers will like and follow, and if so, (2) what are its causal factors and effects, and (3) whether the inspiration mechanism between SMIs and consumers differs between male and female consumers. In so doing, we drew on social defaults theory (Huh et al., 2014) and customer inspiration theory (Böttger et al., 2017).