To build metaverse, Meta first wants to build stores

One of Mark Zuckerberg’s first steps toward building the metave­rse may be physical instead of virtual. Meta, the social media company formerly known as Facebook, has discussed opening retail stores that will eventually span the world, said people with knowledge of the proj­ect and company documents viewed 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 virtual reality headsets and, eventually, augmented reality glasses, they said.

These devices are gateways to the metaverse, a futuri­stic digital world where people mo­ve from virtual to augmented versi­o­ns of reality almost seam­lessly.

The stores would help show people that virtual reality and au­gm­­ented reality can be fun and exciting, exactly the way Zucker­berg sees it. The aim of the stores is to make the world “more open and connected,” according to the docu­m­e­nts viewed by The Times. They are also intended to spark emotions like “curiosity, closeness,” as well as a sense of feeling “welcomed” while experim­enting with headsets in a “judgm­ent free journey,” according to the documents.

Discussions about physical stores predated Facebook’s rebranding by many months, with serious work on the initiative having started last year, the people said. And the project, which is still in development, may not proceed, they said. But if Meta moves forw­ard with stores, it would be a first for a tech giant that has existed largely digitally, with more than 3.5 billion people using its apps such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. A Meta spokeswo­man declined to comment.

Skepticism about the metaverse also abounds. While Meta’s Reality Labs division has had modest past success with the Oculus Quest 2, a low-priced headset that was pop­ular last year, virtual reality remai­ns a niche market for hobbyists and enthusiasts. “We are, at best guess, at least five to 10 years out from a fully fleshed out Meta product or service,” said Tim Derdenger, a professor at Carnegie Mellon Univ­er­sity’s Tepper School of Busin­ess. Early designs for Meta’s stores appeared modern, with a flat, mini­malist aesthetic to the building exteriors and subtle placement of the Facebook brand.

The flagship Facebook Store had been planned for Burlingame, Calif, where Meta has an office for its Reality Labs employees. It was also unclear whe­t­her those plans would continue.