Meta, the conglomerate that controls Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is about to launch its first physical retail store. The 144-square-meter space will be located on the company’s campus in Burlingame, California, United States. The opening will be on May 9.
“The Meta Store will help people understand how our products can be the gateway to the metaverse in the future,” explained Martin Gilliard, head of Meta Store, in a press release. “We’re not selling the metaverse in our store, but we hope people come and go knowing a little more about how our products will help connect them to it.”
The Meta Store will allow visitors to test and experience any physical product from Mark Zuckerberg’s company, such as the Ray-Ban Stories glasses, the Quest 2 virtual reality viewers and the Portal video call monitor.
The store will also have an immersive demo area to test Quest 2 games. The space will feature a large curved LED screen, covering wall to wall, where game content will be played for those not wearing the glasses. Those who participate will receive a 30-second mixed reality video clip of their experience.
The Portal will also have a special demo area where the customer can make a video call with a store employee, being able to fully explore the features, see how the camera works and play with the device’s functions.
In addition, visitors will be able to try and test the different styles of Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses, which capture and share videos with their built-in cameras to Meta’s social media.
Visitors to the Meta Store will be able to try out Ray-Ban Stories, Meta’s camera glasses
Image: Disclosure/Goal
All products will be available for purchase in-store, in addition to the online option in a new shopping tab on the conglomerate’s official website, meta.com. Until then, the company only sold its products at third-party retailers like Best Buy, Target and Amazon.
So far, it is unknown whether this store concept will be seen in storefronts and malls, expanding beyond the company’s campus.
