Meta, the mum or dad firm of Fb and Instagram, opened a brand new flagship retailer in Los Angeles the place folks can check out their sensible glasses and digital actuality headsets whereas studying about native tradition.
The 2-story constructing referred to as Meta Lab, situated at 8600 Melrose Ave. in West Hollywood, spans greater than 20,000 sq. ft and in addition highlights Southern California’s skate scene.
“We spent a number of time world wide the place retail is and the place it’s headed, and all of it felt to us to be actually experiential,” mentioned Matt Jacobson, vice chairman and artistic director of synthetic intelligence wearables at Meta. “Simply to open a retailer with out it being constructed round experiences, simply didn’t appear to make sense.”
The shop’s opening on Saturday underscores how Meta is increasing its retail presence because it tries to entice extra folks to purchase its digital actuality headsets and AI glasses.
For expertise firms, brick-and-mortar shops provide a technique to construct model consciousness and loyalty amongst clients who’re weighing whether or not to purchase an costly system.
Apple is well-known for its smooth and modern-looking shops the place folks go to work together with their laptops and smartphones. This yr, Google additionally opened its first Southern California retail retailer in Santa Monica, permitting folks to take a look at the tech large’s smartphones, watches and sensible house units. Whereas Meta is behind the world’s hottest social community Fb, some clients won’t understand it additionally sells {hardware}.
Meta Lab has a skateboarding theme celebrating the skating neighborhood and tradition.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Instances)
The L.A. retailer, which began as a pop-up final yr, is the second everlasting retail area Meta has opened. The Menlo Park-based firm unveiled its first retailer in Burlingame, Calif., in 2022. Since then, Meta has additionally showcased its units in retailers corresponding to Greatest Purchase, LensCrafters and Ray-Ban shops.
Jacobson mentioned the corporate goals to open extra shops sooner or later.
The Los Angeles retail area incorporates a miniature skate park that individuals can seize photos of with Meta’s AI glasses, spots to take photographs and stations to study concerning the firm’s units. The shop additionally has a vinyl listening room so guests can expertise how the sound compares to the audio system on Meta’s glasses.
Graffiti and mural artwork from Los Angeles artist Saber, also called Ryan Weston Shook, fill the area. The corporate additionally labored with skate artist, photographer, and artistic director Mark Oblow on the shop’s skateboarding theme .
Meta plans to host occasions within the area and the theme will change all year long, Jacobson mentioned. The shop, referred to as Meta Lab, will probably be open day by day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The shop’s opening got here after Meta unveiled its newest lineup of sensible glasses forward of the vacation buying season.
The glasses enable folks to seize photos, take heed to music, translate languages and ask an AI assistant questions like they’d do on a smartphone.
Though the devices haven’t turn into mainstream, gross sales of sensible glasses have picked up as firms corresponding to Meta, Google, Apple, Snap and Samsung compete head-to-head to construct new AI-powered units.
Meta is promoting a extra superior pair of Ray-Ban Meta glasses beginning at $379 with an extended battery life, AI assistant and the flexibility to seize extra vivid movies; Oakley Meta Vanguard glasses beginning at $499 designed for sports activities; and Meta Ray-Ban Show glasses with a high-tech wristband beginning at $799 that makes it attainable for folks to ship textual content messages and full different duties utilizing refined hand gestures.
Clients should purchase Meta’s glasses and headsets on the retailer. Appointments are required, although, to demo the Meta Ray-Ban Show glasses.
Jordan Marksberry tries a recreation sporting a VR headset on the Meta Lab opening.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Instances)
On Wednesday, Meta Chief Government Mark Zuckerberg mentioned Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses have tripled in gross sales within the final yr and “individuals who have them are utilizing them quite a bit.”
“Glasses are the perfect type issue for each AI and the metaverse. They allow you to let an AI see what you see, hear what you hear, and discuss to you all through the day,” he mentioned in an earnings name with analysts. “They usually allow you to mix the bodily and digital worlds along with holograms.”
Meta has been investing closely within the metaverse, digital areas the place folks can socialize, work and play by way of units corresponding to VR headsets and sensible glasses.
The corporate hasn’t shared what number of AI glasses or digital actuality headsets it has bought. Meta’s Actuality Labs division, which develops augmented actuality and digital actuality expertise {hardware}, software program and platforms, misplaced $4.4 billion within the third quarter however generated $470 million in income.
Meta Lab is open in West Hollywood the place guests can attempt to purchase Meta VR wearables.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Instances)
Meta is a front-runner within the sensible glasses race, based on the Worldwide Knowledge Company, which offers market intelligence on client expertise. The agency estimates that Meta accounted for about 60% of the worldwide marketplace for display-less sensible glasses, together with augmented and digital actuality headsets, through the second quarter of 2025.
Meta shipped greater than 3.5 million pairs of its Ray-Ban sensible glasses from late 2023 to the second quarter of 2025, based on IDC.
IDC anticipates the marketplace for sensible glasses with out shows will develop to 9.4 million in 2025, up 247.5% from 2024, primarily pushed by Meta.
Chinese language tech firms corresponding to Xiaomi and Huawei additionally promote sensible glasses, however their gross sales nonetheless path far behind Meta, they usually’re not as well-known within the U.S., based on IDC.
Jitesh Ubrani, a analysis supervisor at IDC who covers wearables, mentioned opening a retailer in Los Angeles permits Meta to leverage its community of creators and celebrities to market its AI glasses. Merchandise featured in motion pictures can elevate model consciousness and Los Angeles is house to the leisure trade.
When Tom Cruise wore Ray-Bans in well-known movies corresponding to “Dangerous Enterprise” and “Prime Gun,” that helped gasoline the recognition of the sun shades, he mentioned.
A Meta glasses shadow decorates the surface of the Meta Lab that’s open in West Hollywood.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Instances)
Folks additionally must study how the glasses work.
“There’s this community impact that’s constructed from there, however all that begins with educating the consumer as to what these glasses can do,” he mentioned.
In October, Meta additionally opened a 560-square-foot retail pop-up area on the Wynn Las Vegas lodge. It’s additionally planning to open a pop-up in New York, which will even have a skate theme.
“We’re a folks first firm and I believe the way in which we shine a light-weight on folks and communities in these shops goes to be actually essential,” mentioned Jacobson, who grew up in Manhattan Seaside.
