Meta has announced the opening of the “Meta Store”, the platform’s first physical retail space, available exclusively in Burlingame, California.
Members of the public will be able to get “hands-on experience” with all the technology companies hardware products.
“Through interactive demos, you can make video calls to retail associates with Portal, learn how Ray-Ban Stories can help you stay present with the world around you, and explore the magic of VR with a first-of-its-kind immersive Quest 2 demo,” Meta said.
“At the Meta Store, we want you to interact with everything. We want you to pick stuff up. We want you to feel it.”
People will be able to discover how the AR experience, Ray-Ban Stories, helps customers capture and share memories “without taking them out of the moment”.
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A special demo area will also be designated for Portal in which the public can place a video call to a retail associate to fully explore its capabilities, see Smart Camera in action and play with features like Story Time.
The store will also feature a Quest 2 VR demo area where gamers can experience Beat Saber, GOLF+, Real VR Fishing and Supernatural on a large, wall-to-wall curved LED screen that displays what they are seeing in-headset.
Meta added: “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.”
At around 1,550 sq. ft in size, the “relatively small” Meta Store acts as a glimpse into what the metaverse will look like for consumers in the future.
Meta Store head Martin Gillard concluded: “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.”
“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.”
“Once people experience the technology, they can gain a better appreciation for it.”
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