Will Meta (Facebook) soon open its first physical store?

Facebook-owner Meta reportedly has plans to open physical stores to showcase its virtual reality and augmented reality devices to consumers.

Meet metaverse

The news arrived about a week after the Facebook group changed its name to Meta. In doing so, the social media company indicates it is shifting its focus towards building a virtual world or metaverse where users can socialise, work and play. The plans to open stores, which no one has officially confirmed, indicate that Meta wants to be present in the real world to show what it can do in the virtual world.

More specifically, Meta would showcase the capabilities of its virtual reality and augmented reality equipment in those stores. The company sells several products, including headsets and video chat devices, that customers could try out in person, CNBC writes. Meta is reportedly planning a flagship store in Burlingame, California, where the company also has an office for Reality Labs.

Big tech companies like Apple have had success with physical stores. Google recently opened its first branch. Microsoft, for its part, ditched its physical store locations last year in favour of focusing on its webshop.