In an effort to make it easier for potential customers to test out the Quest 2 and its other products, Meta is launching its first ever retail store on its campus in Burlingame, California.
The company’s new Meta Store will give users a chance to test out its products in person and go hands-on with them through interactive demos. At the same time though, Meta is making it easier to shop for Portal, Ray-Ban Stories and Quest all in one place online through a new Shop tab on its website.
Head of Meta Store, Martin Gilliard explained in a press release how Meta’s new store will also help familiarize users with the concept of the metaverse in addition to being able to interact with its products in person, saying:
“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.”
Meta Store
At roughly 1,550 square feet, the Meta Store has a relatively small footprint especially when compared to Apple’s flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York which is a whopping 77k square feet.
However, one of the reasons the company decided to go with a smaller space for its first store is due to the fact that it is near Reality Labs HQ where the metaverse is currently being built.
Once inside the Meta Store, customers will be able to test out Ray-Ban Stories for themselves and even make a video call to one of Meta’s retail associates using Portal so that they can see Smart Camera in action and play around with features like Story Time.
One of the key attractions of Meta’s new store is an interactive Quest 2 display wall that will allow customers to explore the company’s standalone VR headset, its accessories and the wide variety of games and other content available. They’ll be able to try out Quest games including Beat Saber, GOLF+, Real VR Fishing or Supernatural on a large, wall-to-wall curved LED screen that displays exactly what they’re seeing in Quest 2. However, customers will also get a 30-second mixed reality clip of their demo experience that they’ll be able to share on social media.
The Meta Store on 322 Airport Blvd in Burlingame, California will be open from Monday through Friday from 11am to 6pm PT beginning on Monday, May 9. If Meta’s first retail store is a success, we could see the company set up other locations ahead of Black Friday and this year’s holiday shopping season.
