Meta Plans to Increase Retail Locations Amid Rising Smart Glasses Competition

Okay, so here’s the thing — Meta has been toying with the whole retail gig for ages, right? But now, some insider chat (yep, the juicy kind) from Business Insider says they’re really ready to jump in with both feet and open way more stores than just their lonely first one.

Apparently, they’re on the hunt for people to work these new locations — not just random pop-up shenanigans they’ve tried before. I guess the plan’s kinda like Apple’s retail game? But then again, who knows. This info isn’t even widely known inside Meta yet, it seems. What a mystery.

So, Meta did this pop-up thing in LA last year — got some buzz, whatever. Since 2016, they’ve done a bunch of these pop-ups and teamed with places like Best Buy for demos of their XR headsets. (I legit don’t know why I noticed this… maybe just curious by nature?)

Oh, and there’s one permanent spot in Burlingame, California, right next to their Reality Labs campus. It’s like the HQ for trying out their Quest 3 and those Ray-Ban Meta glasses.

Now here’s where it gets kinda wild. These Ray-Ban Meta Glasses are a big deal. Made with EssilorLuxottica — yeah, the fancy glasses folks. In 2024, they sold a million of these things. No kidding, a million! Zuckerberg himself called it a “great start.” Imagine that.

And the future? EssilorLuxottica’s CEO said they plan to produce about 10 million units every year by 2026. Seriously ambitious, right?

The glasses? They’re not just for looking cool — cameras, Meta AI assistant, off-ear speakers (which, oddly kinda makes sense, if you think about it). Plenty of styles and lenses already, but more are probably gonna pop up soon.

Bloomberg dropped a bombshell in April too saying Meta’s working on new smart glasses, including some with displays and sporty ones from Oakley’s line. So there’s movement there.

Plus, Google’s also in the smart glasses race. They had their own reveal at Google I/O, teaming up with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster for new Android XR glasses. A crowded field now!

And Apple — yep, good ol’ Apple — is reportedly getting in on this too, cooking up smart glasses with this special chip from their watches. Energy-efficient and can manage a bunch of cameras, apparently. It’s all techy mumbo-jumbo, but sounds fancy, you know?

Anyway, wait… where was I? Right — so Meta’s making waves. And watching all these big companies doing their thing is just, well, fascinating. Sort of? Maybe? Who knows where this’ll all end up. A year from now, could be totally different, or maybe exactly where we think. Stay tuned, I guess.