Katie Contreras and Chris Nguyen, seasoned professionals, stand at the Customer Reach station for the Quest Demo space during a preview of the newly opened physical storefront of Meta Platforms Inc, Facebook owners in Burlingame, California, today. May 4, 2022.
Brittany Hosea-Small | Reuters
Meta is taking the next step in its evolution, from an ad-supported social network to a hardware-oriented technology company for the hyper-reverse age, with the opening of its first retail store. mine.
As the company formerly known as Facebook is working to justify the billions of people it is pouring into its metaverse infrastructure – its Reality Labs business lost $3 billion in the first quarter – they are stepping up their efforts. force to introduce its next-generation products to the mainstream consumer. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has laid out an ambitious vision for the metaverse, in which people will interact in the virtual world through various devices such as virtual reality headsets, but has hinted that it will not implemented until the end of the decade.
Martin Gilliard, Director of Meta Store, told CNBC that the store is designed to let consumers know about Meta products, which you really have to experience to understand.
“The store is essential for us to be another touchpoint for consumers,” Gilliard said. “What we’re going to learn from this store will help inform if we keep doing more of these things, but what we’re really looking for is the ability to tell a story and get feedback.” feedback from consumers.”
Meta’s first physical presence was a neat 1,500-square-foot space adjacent to its Reality Lab Headquarters in Burlingame, California, with three products displayed on golden wooden shelves.
The most important thing to adopt the metaverse is the Quest Two virtual reality headset, which consumers can demonstrate to understand the different use cases of virtual reality.
Meta team members stand ready to help demonstrate different spaces during a preview of the newly opened physical storefront by Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc in Burlingame, California, May 4, 2022.
Brittany Hosea-Small | Reuters
Then there are Meta’s Ray Ban Stories, “smart glasses” that take photos and videos to share on social platforms.
And finally, the company is introducing the Portal, a video calling device that it is marketing as a solution for work-from-home and family staying in touch.
“We built the store to make you feel at home, like at work, so you can really easily apply how this experience translates to how to actually use it in the real world,” says Gilliard. real world”.
But stores aren’t just there to showcase new Meta products to consumers. Since all three products are in relatively new categories, Gilliard said the company is also looking to learn from how consumers interact with them.
“Customer feedback is part of what we will continue to build on going forward,” says Gilliard.
Customers wait in line outside the new Meta retail store on opening day in Burlingame, California, May 9, 2022.
Nathan Frandino | Reuters
It’s worth noting that the store is not on a busy pedestrian shopping street, like the Apple store not far away in Burlingame, but is located in Meta’s Reality Labs offices. Gilliard replied, “What I would say about the location is that it is accessible. We have a lot of walking paths here and even from [the first day’s] turnout, I don’t think that’s what’s stopping people from going to the store. “
For now, Meta doesn’t say whether it plans to open more stores permanently or pursue pop-up stores, the way Amazon is.
