Meta Store – Facebook’s First Physical Retail Space

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05 May 2022

Meta will soon open its first physical retail store, to help familiarise people with the metaverse concept face-to-face.

The 1,550 square ft store at 322 Airport Blvd in Burlingame, California is close to Reality Labs HQ, Meta’s research and development head office.

Visitors will be able to demo Ray-Ban Stories, smart glasses that let you capture photos and videos, take phone calls and listen to music.

Shoppers will also get the chance to explore VR with a first-of-its-kind immersive Meta Quest 2 demo.

“Once people experience the technology, they can gain a better appreciation for it. If we did our job right, people should leave and tell their friends, ‘You’ve got to go check out the Meta Store” said Martin Gilliard, Head of Meta Store.

Mark Zuckerberg defines the metaverse as “an embodied internet where you're in the experience, not just looking at it” and a place that will change the way we think about our computers and phones.

By using augmented and virtual reality, the company hopes to build the next evolution in social technology.

The store will open on 9 May 2022.

Watch the Video

Once inside the store, shoppers will enter the special Meta Portal demo area, using video calls to fully explore its capabilities, see Smart Camera in action and play with features like Story Time.

The Meta Store also features an interactive Meta Quest 2 display wall, allowing people to explore the hardware, its accessories, and the breadth of content available today.

Shoppers can try out the immersive demo area, playing various games on a large, wall-to-wall curved LED screen that displays what’s being seen in-headset.

Customers will receive a 30-second mixed reality clip of their demo experience.

Picture: a photograph of two people, one is using the Meta Quest headset and handheld controllers. Image Credit: Meta

A New Retail Concept 

“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,” Martin Gilliard continued.

“Ultimately, our goal with the Meta Store is to show people what’s possible with our products today, while giving a glimpse into the future as the metaverse comes to life — and hopefully demystifying that concept a bit in the process.

“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. 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.”

Picture: a photograph of the interior of the new Meta store, showing retail units displaying Meta products and a large wall-mounted screen. Image Credit: Meta

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 05 May 2022

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