Meta Opens First VR Store in the Physical World

Meta has announced the opening of its first retail outlet. Set to open its doors on the 9th of May, the retail store will be based at Meta’s Burlingame campus in California. Shoppers will be able to pick up products such as Quest 2, Meta’s Portal device, and Ray-Ban Stories sunglasses.

With interactive demonstrations of popular Quest 2 VR games such as Beat Saber on a giant curved LED screen, visitors to the store will be able to get a real flavour of what to expect from the technology Meta hopes will underpin the metaverse.

Visitors to the store will also be given a 30-second mixed reality clip taken from their in-store demonstration which will be theirs to keep and share.

The 1,550 square foot store also allows customers to try out the Portal video-calling device. There are also several different styles of Ray-Ban Stories camera glasses; however, the real product that Meta wants to push here is the Quest 2.

The End of Oculus

Anyone wanting to check out the wares of Meta’s Burlingame campus store that’s not in the area and doesn’t want to stump up for the airfare can also find the same products now listed on meta.com. This includes the newly rebranded ‘Meta Quest 2’ which is currently priced at £299. 

The opening of the new store coincides with the end of the Oculus branding as the old ‘Oculus.com’ URL now redirects to Meta-branded pages and content.

Will Meta Follow Apple’s Lead?

It’s been just over two decades since Apple first launched its first store. Opened in 2001 to promote the launch of the iPod, Apple had previously attempted store-within-store retail concepts. These days, Apple Stores are a mainstay on the high street across the globe.

As Meta moves from being a social media company, to one that wants to provide the hardware and the platform they hope will be the cornerstone of the metaverse and web 3.0, it’s quite possible that they may roll this concept out further and Meta Stores could become the go-to place to get real-world advice and support for your VR needs as well as any Quest peripherals.

Where Is the Store?

The address of the first Meta store is 322 Airport Blvd in Burlingame, California and it’ll be open Monday- Friday from 11 am to 6 pm. At the store, you’ll be able to pick up a Quest 2 or a Portal video-calling device. If you want to buy any of the Ray-Ban Stories glasses, one of the in-store team members will help you place an order from Ray-Ban.

At the moment, the store is based at the Burlingame campus close to the Meta Reality Labs so that developers can see how visitors are interacting with the hardware, and how the company can develop its retail strategy for the future.

Would you like to see a Meta Store open up near you? Let us know what you think in the comments.