Facebook-owner Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is opening its first physical store in an attempt to make the metaverse more mainstream.
The Meta Store will open in California on 9 May, according to chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, who announced the news on Facebook Monday.
In the store, shoppers can try out and buy virtual reality (VR) headsets and other hardware products.
"Ultimately, our goal with the Meta Store is to show people what’s possible with our products today, while giving a glimpse into the future as the metaverse comes to life — and hopefully demystifying that concept a bit in the process," the company said in a statement.
Zuckerberg said visitors to the store can play Quest 2 and project their experience onto a big wall for their friends. Besides getting a glimpse of how Meta's products connect people today, the chief said it also gives a sense of what is coming.
The 1,550 square feet Meta Store is located on Meta's campus in Burlingame, California. Visitors can try out Portal, video calling devices with Alexa built-in smart home devices, and Quest 2 VR headsets as well as Ray-Ban's smart glasses.
In contrast to the Portal and Quest 2 kits, Ray-Ban-branded gear will not be sold at the Meta Store, with users directed to a new online shopping tab to purchase them.
Meta is investing heavily in the virtual world by adding new features to hardware devices that serve as access points to the metaverse.
The company announced earlier this month it will test tools for selling digital assets on Horizon Worlds, a VR platform it launched late last year.
Meta also plans to charge a fee of 47.5% from creators of digital experiences and assets, a move that has been criticised by some app developers.