Meta Opening Its First Physical Store As Metaverse Efforts Heat Up

Meta has announced its first physical store, set to launch on May 9 in California. Customers can try various devices and get demos and experiences associated with the metaverse, among other services.

Meta has announced its first physical store, which allows customers to try its hardware hands-on. The stores will open on May 9 in Burlingame, California. The devices available in the store will be Portal, Ray-Ban Stories, and the Quest 2 VR headset. The company has also introduced a shop tab on the Meta website.

The hands-on experience will allow users to try demos of various products and services, including video calls and experience with the VR headset. Martin Gilliard, Head of Meta Store, said,

“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.’”

Meta acknowledges that the metaverse is a strong part of this initiative, noting that it was important that it launched the store near its Reality Labs headquarters. Gilliard said that the company would take its learning from the hardware store and work it into its future strategy.

It’s clear that Meta wants to nudge people into trying its Metaverse ideas. The company is steadily progressing into that niche, while still keeping social interactions at its core.

Meta accelerating its metaverse promotion push

Meta has frequently been in the news for its efforts in the metaverse space — and the company has made it clear that this is its number one priority. It is investing in this initiative to the point that it has poured billions of dollars into the effort. This is not surprising, given that the metaverse market could be worth as much as $678 billion by 2030.

Among the company’s developments are the launch of a currency in its Horizon Worlds VR app. It may even be used on future iterations of Facebook and Instagram, with the staff informally calling it Zuck Bucks. Meta is also working on encouraging content creators to sell work through their applications.

One of the more interesting developments is a series of AI projects. During an Inside the Lab event, Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a smart assistant and a builder bot that would help develop the metaverse experience.