Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, is moving faster than it normally does. In addition to performing all sorts of new software functions intended to make us think it was all about virtual reality the whole time, the company is reported to be working on physical stores.
The stores, which would be used to showcase Facebook’s Meta’s physical products, apparently aren’t a done deal, according to the New York Times. Discussions reportedly began in 2020, but have yet to be finalised so it’s not a certainty that we’ll see the company get physical with the world.
Meta physical stores… huh.
If the stores do make it to this reality (as opposed to the Metaverse, we guess), they’re more likely to be experience stores than proper retail outlets. Products created by the company’s Reality Labs division, like the Oculus and Portal hardware, or the recently-released Ray-Ban Stories, as well as future items like the company’s rumoured smartwatch, would turn up there.
A whole slew of Facebook-related names were reportedly under consideration but, what with the company’s recent pivot, that’s likely to be obsolete information.
If an actual Meta store does materialise, it’s likely to first appear in Burlingame, California. The nearby Reality Labs office makes it a sensible choice, but it won’t stay there. The social network apparently intends to open stores in locations around the world. Because of course they do.
Source: The New York Times