Meta physical store to offer hands-on VR experience
Opening May 9 in Burlingame, California, the Meta Store is a physical retail space designed to allow consumers to discover the Portal family of video-calling devices, Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses, and the Quest 2 VR headset, and to try them out in person. Through interactive demos, store visitors can make video calls to retail associates with Portal, learn how Ray-Ban Stories can help users stay present with the world around them, and explore the experience of VR with a first-of-its-kind immersive Quest 2 demo.
“At the Meta Store,” says the company, “we want you to interact with everything. We want you to pick stuff up. We want you to feel it.”
Inside the Meta Store visitors can discover how Ray-Ban Stories help them capture and share memories without taking them out of the moment. Customers can try on a range of style, color and lens variations to find the perfect fit for.
Customers will also be able to check out Portal in a special demo area. Once inside, they can place a video call to a retail associate to fully explore its capabilities, see Smart Camera in action and play with features like Story Time.
The Meta Store also features an interactive Quest 2 display wall, allowing visitors to explore the hardware, its accessories, and the breadth of content available today. In addition, an immersive Quest 2 demo area lets visitors try Beat Saber, GOLF+, Real VR Fishing or Supernatural on a large, wall-to-wall curved LED screen that displays what they’re seeing in-headset. Users will also get a 30-second mixed reality clip of their demo experience that’s yours to share.
“Once people experience the technology,” says Martin Gilliard, Head of Meta Store. “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.'”
The company is also making it easier to shop Portal, Ray-Ban Stories and Quest all in one place online, in a new Shop tab on meta.com.
