Meta announced it is opening up Meta Lab, a pop-up experiential retail space for its Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses starting November 8th in Los Angeles. The temporary store will be around through the end of the year and allow customers to try out the glasses and customize their glasses cases as they shop. Meta Lab will also have local events with various creators, including stand-up comedians, live podcasts, and cooking classes.
This particular retail store is an extension of the Meta Lab experience earlier this year at Connect 2024. At that time, Meta had unveiled the transparent versions of its Ray-Bans. The company says that over 90 percent of Connect attendees had attended, with more than 25 percent then purchasing a pair. It appears the LA pop-up won’t be exactly the same thing, as it’s themed to tie-in with LA and Southern Californian lowrider culture. It’ll also include an “immersion experience room” that allows people to view an AI-generated Malibu beach.
Pop-ups and retail stores have gone hand-in-hand with smart glasses in the past. Snap Spectacles famously garnered buzz with vending machines that sold the glasses in random locations around the country. Focals by North also had mobile pop-ups and a Brooklyn retail store so people could try the device and get fitted.
That said, maintaining permanent spaces can be costly for emerging tech — especially in expensive metropolitan areas. That’s likely a big reason why this current pop-up will only be open for a limited time, closing on December 31st. Another Meta Lab experience is planned for Phoenix at the end of January. Meta didn’t say whether we’ll see any further pop-ups beyond that. For now, Meta is using these pop-ups as a test run to see whether there’s a future for Ray-Ban Meta glasses in more permanent retail spaces.
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