Meta is preparing to enter brick-and-mortar retail and compete directly with the company AppAccording to a new report from Business Insider, Meta is working on a plan to open own physical storesthat would offer practical testing of its technologies – from Meta Quest VR headsets until Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.

One store is already standing

So far, Meta has only one brick-and-mortar store – Meta Store in Burlingame, California, which it opened in 2022. It serves as a showroom for the company’s latest hardware and is strongly reminiscent of the Apple Store, whose network includes more than 500 branches worldwide.

Plans to expand the sales network have not yet been officially announced, but leaked internal communications show that Meta is actively is hiring retail employeesance and is preparing for expansion. Last year, the company tested a pop-up store Meta Lab in Los Angeles, where it offered its smart glasses.

Starring AI

A chain of stores makes sense from the perspective of the current strategy – Meta is betting on development of artificial inteligence and smart hardware as a path to further growth. Its competition with AppThe hem is constantly beingiosis growing – not only in the field of hardware, but also in issues of privacy, advertising and regulation.

However, history shows that copying success Apple Store It’s not easy. Microsoft with your network Microsoft Store failed and closed most of its stores. Meta will have to show that it not only has the technology, but also the ability to bring the experience of using products to a physical space.