April 29, 2022 – Meta has this week announced ‘Meta Store’ — the company’s first physical retail space, which will open May 9 on Meta’s campus in Burlingame, California, US. In the Meta Store, customers will be able to get hands-on experience with all of Meta’s hardware products, according to the company.
Meta stated that at the new Meta Store, the aim is for customers to to interact with everything. Inside, customers can discover how Ray-Ban Stories can help to capture and share memories without, as well as try on a range of style, color and lens variations to find the perfect fit. Customers will also be able to check out Meta Portal in a special demo area, where they can place a video call to a retail associate to fully explore the platform’s capabilities, see Smart Camera in action and play with features like Story Time. Finally, users will be able to explore Meta’s virtual reality (VR) offering with a first-of-its-kind immersive Meta Quest 2 demo.
The interactive Meta Quest 2 display wall will allow customers to explore Meta’s flagship VR hardware device, its accessories, and the breadth of content available today. In the demo area, users can try Beat Saber, GOLF+, Real VR Fishing or Supernatural on a large, wall-to-wall curved LED screen that displays what the wearer is seeing in-headset. Visitors will also get a 30-second mixed reality clip of their demo experience that they can share.
At roughly 1,550 square feet, the Meta Store has a relatively small footprint for an engaging experience. Meta added that it was also important for the company to launch the first Meta Store close to its Reality Labs HQ, where the company is working to build the metaverse.
“Having the store here in Burlingame gives us more opportunity to experiment and keep the customer experience core to our development. What we learn here will help define our future retail strategy,” said Martin Gilliard, Head of Meta Store.
It seems that Meta’s ultimate goal with the Meta Store is to show people what’s possible with its products today, while giving customers a glimpse into the future of the metaverse (and hopefully demystify the concept for people a bit in the process) as the company works to bring the metaverse to the masses.
“The Meta Store is going to help people make that connection to how our products can be the gateway to the metaverse in the future,” added Gilliard. “We’re not selling the metaverse in our store, but hopefully people will come in and walk out knowing a little bit more about how our products will help connect them to it.”
Starting May 9, the Meta Store will be open Monday through Friday from 11:00AM to 6:00PM PT. The store is located at 322 Airport Blvd in Burlingame, California. Customers will be able to purchase Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 2 accessories and Meta Portal devices. However, customers will not be able to purchase Ray-Ban Stories in the store, as these are sold exclusively by Ray-Ban. Customers interested in purchasing Ray-Ban Stories can speak with a retail associate at the Meta Store, who will help order the glasses directly from Ray-Ban.com.
Image credit: Meta
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Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.