Meta Opens New Flagship Store in Los Angeles to Showcase its Smart Glasses
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has opened a new flagship store in Los Angeles, offering customers a unique opportunity to experience its smart glasses and virtual reality headsets. The store, called Meta Lab, is located at 8600 Melrose Ave. in West Hollywood and spans over 20,000 square feet. The two-story building features a skateboarding theme, celebrating the local skate culture, and provides an immersive experience for visitors to learn about Meta’s devices.
The opening of the Meta Lab store underscores the company’s efforts to expand its retail presence and entice more people to buy its virtual reality headsets and AI glasses. As Matt Jacobson, vice president and creative director of artificial intelligence wearables at Meta, noted, “We spent a lot of time around the world looking at where retail is and where it’s headed, and it all felt to us to be really experiential.” The store’s focus on experiences, rather than just products, is a deliberate attempt to build brand awareness and loyalty among customers.
Meta Lab has a skateboarding theme celebrating the skating community and culture.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Experiential Retail and Community Engagement
The store features a miniature skate park, spots to take photos, and stations to learn about Meta’s devices. Visitors can also experience the sound quality of Meta’s glasses in a vinyl listening room. The space is filled with graffiti and mural art from Los Angeles artist Saber, also known as Ryan Weston Shook, and skate artist, photographer, and creative director Mark Oblow. Meta plans to host events in the space, and the theme will change throughout the year.
According to Jitesh Ubrani, a research manager at IDC, opening a store in Los Angeles allows Meta to leverage its network of creators and celebrities to market its AI glasses. “There’s this network effect that’s built from there, but all that starts with educating the user as to what these glasses can do,” he said.
Jordan Marksberry tries a game wearing a VR headset at the Meta Lab opening.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Market Leadership and Future Plans
Meta is a front-runner in the smart glasses race, according to the International Data Corporation. The firm estimates that Meta accounted for about 60% of the global market for display-less smart glasses, along with augmented and virtual reality headsets, during the second quarter of 2025. Meta shipped more than 3.5 million pairs of its Ray-Ban smart glasses
Image Source: www.latimes.com
