Meta is working on plans to open retail stores, internal communication shows

Business Insider

2 days ago

Meta has an ongoing project to expand its retail footprint, an internal communication seen by BI shows.
Meta has been planning to open physical stores and hire retail workers, a move that could mirror Apple's retail strategy.
Meta's retail ambitions come as it seeks to boost sales of hardware products like its smart glasses.
The company has an ongoing project to expand its retail footprint, which is not broadly known internally yet, according to an internal communication seen by BI. The communication also said Meta plans to hire retail employees.
Meta has only one physical retail space, called Meta Store, which it opened on its campus in Burlingame, California, in 2022. The store lets shoppers test out some of its hardware products, including its Meta Quest VR headsets and Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, much like its rival Apple, which has more than 500 retail stores globally.
It's unclear how many stores Meta might open and on what timeline, but it experimented with the idea last year by opening a pop-up store, Meta Lab, to sell its smart glasses in Los Angeles.
An expansion could give a sales boost to its hardware products, such as smart glasses, which Meta sold more than 1 million units last year. In an all-hands meeting earlier this year, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said it was a "great start" but "not going to move the needle and the business in a core way." He added that 2025 would offer an indication of whether the product line will become a "long-term grind" and whether, in the near term, AI glasses will become a "really prominent computing platform."
The company is also on a mission this year to "drive sales, retention, and engagement," according to an internal memo written by CTO Andrew Bosworth last year. He also said Meta plans to launch half a dozen more AI-powered wearables this year.