Meta, Facebook’s new name, wants to build physical stores to build metaverse

One of Mark Zuckerberg’s first steps toward building the metaverse may be physical, not virtual.

Meta, the social networking company formerly known as Facebook, has discussed opening physical stores that will eventually spread around the world, according to people briefed on the project and company documents seen by The New York Times.

The stores would be used to introduce people to devices made by the company’s Reality Labs division, such as headsets (headsets) and, later, augmented reality glasses, these people said.

The devices are gateways to the metaverse, a futuristic digital world where people move from virtual to augmented versions of reality almost without realizing it. Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook and its CEO, last week renamed the company Meta and laid out a vision to pursue the metaverse as the next social platform. Stores would help show consumers that virtual reality and augmented reality can be fun and exciting, just as Zuckerberg sees them.

The stores’ aim is to make the world “more open and connected,” according to company documents seen by the Times. They are also expected to provoke emotions such as “curiosity, intimacy” as well as a feeling of “welcoming” while trying on the headsets on a “non-judgmental journey,” according to the documents.

Discussions about the brick-and-mortar stores predated Facebook’s rebranding by several months, and serious work on the initiative began last year, informed people said. And the project, which is still under development, may not move forward, according to them. But if Meta goes ahead with the stores it will be a novelty for a tech giant that has existed mostly digitally, with more than 3.5 billion people using its Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger apps.

A spokeswoman for Meta said the company could not confirm the stores’ plans, but that its latest virtual reality headset is in “high demand” and that its hardware is available at partner stores.

Zuckerberg has promoted the metaverse as his company faces regulatory and social challenges. Frances Haugen, a former employee turned informant, has collected thousands of pages of internal documents and recently shared them with lawmakers and the media. She said Facebook makes no effort to protect society from the harm it causes. The revelations have drawn scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators, but it’s not clear whether Haugen’s thesis is solid enough.

Skepticism about the metaverse is also great. While Meta’s Reality Labs division has had modest success with the Oculus Quest 2, a low-priced overhead device that was popular last year, virtual reality remains a niche market for enthusiasts and curious onlookers. Hardware is often expensive and can be difficult to use. Some people have reported that headsets cause nausea.

“We are, at best, at least five or ten years away from a fully Meta-developed product or service,” said Tim Derdenger, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Management. According to him, Meta is working on something similar to the Second Life computer game of the early 2000s, calling it “a second attempt at a service similar to Second Life, but one that appears to be more immersive.”

Zuckerberg, however, said he sees the right time to build what he says will be the next big change in computing platforms since the smartphone era. In that future, Zuckerberg’s apps would no longer be bound by the rules dictated by Apple and Google, which own the app stores that distribute Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger.

Tech companies have already traveled the path of physical reality. Personal computer maker Gateway had its own stores in the 1990s. Apple has retail stores so people can test the equipment and clarify doubts. Microsoft, Amazon and others also followed with their own stores.

In recent years, Meta has experimented with some physical trade initiatives. She has opened kiosks at airports and a “pop-up” store in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood to showcase her Oculus hardware products. It also had a pop-up spot with Macy’s department store in 2018, aiming to bring more small businesses to the platform.

If the new Meta stores take place, they will feature products such as Portal teleconferencing devices, which allow people to chat via Facebook, as well as Oculus headsets, according to company documents. Stores may also have voice-activated sunglasses that Meta developed with the Ray-Ban, which people can use to take pictures or videos.

Early models for Meta stores looked modern, with a flat, minimalist aesthetic on the exterior of the buildings and subtle placement of the Facebook brand, according to the documents. The company considered naming its stores Facebook Hub, Facebook Commons, Facebook Innovations, Facebook Reality Store and From Facebook, before eventually settling on Facebook Store as the top candidate, the documents say.

It is unclear how the Meta rebranding will affect store names. Andrew Bosworth, a former Facebook executive who will become Meta’s chief technology officer, said last week that the Oculus brand will be abolished and replaced by the Meta name. Oculus Quest will become Meta Quest, while Facebook Portal will be called Meta Portal, he said.

The main Facebook Store address is planned for Burlingname, California, where Meta has an office for its Reality Labs employees. It is also unclear whether these plans will go ahead.

Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves