American technology and social media conglomerate Meta Platforms, trading as Meta, announced that on May 9 it will open the first physical Meta store on its campus in Burlingame, where users will be able to purchase and test all of its hardware products, seeking to take another step in its famous "Metaverse."
In collaboration with Ray-Ban, "Meta Store", the physical store of Meta, will seek to provide interactive demonstrations to its users, where they will be able to make video calls through Portal ‒video call devices‒, learn how to use Ray-Ban Stories ‒smart glasses‒, and explore the magic of virtual reality with a Quest 2 immersive, the first of its kind.
While Burlingame will be home to Meta's first physical store, this one joins the portal www.meta.com, where users can shop from the comfort of their mobile devices.
“Once people experience the technology, they can appreciate it more. If we’ve done our job well, people should go away and tell their friends, ‘You’ve got to go check out Meta Store,’” said Martin Gilliard, director of Meta Store.
With approximately 1,550 square feet, Meta sought to launch its first physical store near the headquarters of Reality Labs, the space where they are building the “metaverse.”
“Having the store here in Burlingame gives us more opportunities to experiment and keep the customer experience at the core of our development. What we learn here will help shape our future retail strategy,” Gilliard added.
The company detailed in a statement that its goal with Meta Store, Meta's physical store, is to show people what is currently possible with its products, while also giving a glimpse of the future as the metaverse comes to life and, "hopefully," demystifying that concept a bit in the process.
“The Meta Store will help people make that connection about how our products can be the gateway to the metaverse in the future. We’re not selling the metaverse in our store, but we hope people will come in and learn a little bit more about how our products will help them connect to it,” Gilliard said.
Starting May 9, the store will be open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific Time at 322 Airport Blvd in Burlingame, San Mateo County, California.
Attendees will be able to purchase the Quest 2 and accessories for it, Portal devices, and if they are interested in purchasing Ray-Ban Stories, a retail associate will help them order them directly from www.Ray-Ban.com.
"At Meta Store, we want you to interact with everything. We want you to collect things. We want you to feel it," said the company that previously bore the name Facebook.
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