Now that Facebook’s parent company, Meta, is gradually becoming more well know, the company is planning on opening physical stores which it will utilise as a means to better showcase its next step in product advancement and next-level hardware.
The outlined plans for physical stores include the aspect to sell:
- VR headsets
- AR glasses
- Portal devices
- A smartwatch (more about that below)
And more.
As per the New York Times:
“Meta 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.”
An Immersive World of Endless Possibilities
The bigger picture is that in order to guide users towards Meta’s overarching vision of the metaverse, the company will need to get their tools into more homes and physical stores to better establish direct-to-consumer supply chains.
Of the above, the product that seems to be of the most obvious focus in this respect is Meta’s VR headsets. This is due namely to the fact that company’s fully-enabled metaverse vision is aligned around wholly interactive VR worlds, which is only possible in the Virtual Reality environment.
With many people, and brands, looking towards the next step of digital connection, if Meta can build a central platform that enables connection in an interactive VR world, the company will play a central role in the next phase of digital connection.
A Meta Watch
Meta is reportedly also working on a new smart watch. Whilst the smartwatch market is dominated by Apple, Google, Garmin and Samsung, Meta’s offering is designed to mimic a smartphone more closely than that of the already established units from other brands. CEO Mark Zuckerberg took a stab at the competition by referring to Android and iOS as “closed platforms”.
In June 2021, the plan was to launch the device in Summer 2022 but there has not been a final decision on release timing as of yet.
The Complex Nature of Establishing Consumer Supply Chains
There’s no doubt about it – establishing consumer supply chains is complicated business. In this regard, some would argue that Snapchat with its Spectacles, has a leg up on Meta with it having been available for some time now.
If Meta had to open up its own retail chain, it would provide opportunity for the company to maximise product awareness and sales growth. Although it would be a large undertaking, given Meta’s goal of making connection into the metaverse as easy as possible, the proposed notion makes sense.
It’s clear that the next stage of digital connection is closer than we realise. As close as buying a headset at a store and logging on? Well, if Meta gets it right, it could be.
