Meta Plans to Increase Retail Presence Amid Growing Smart Glasses Competition

Meta’s been kinda dipping its toes into the whole retail scene for what feels like ages now. I mean, there’s this thing I read on Business Insider saying they might finally get serious and go big with stores, beyond that one lonely brick-and-mortar they’ve got.

So, apparently, according to some insider scoop (which is still hush-hush, I guess), they’re on the lookout for people to staff these places. It’s like they’re thinking, “Hey, Apple’s got stores everywhere, maybe we should, too.” But then again, who knows, maybe it’s just rumor-mill stuff for now.

Remember that pop-up in LA last year? It got some buzz, but Meta’s done a bunch of pop-ups since 2016. Plus, they’ve teamed up with places like Best Buy to show off their XR headsets. Just a little demo action here and there, nothing permanent.

Speaking of permanent, they do have one store in Burlingame, California. It’s right by that Reality Labs place they have. You can check out Quest stuff and those Ray-Ban Meta glasses there. Oh, those glasses… they’re made with EssilorLuxottica – kinda fancy, right?

And get this, more than a million pairs of those glasses were sold in 2024 alone! Zuckerberg labeled it a “great start.” Quite the understatement, huh? EssilorLuxottica’s CEO said they’re ramping up production to maybe 10 million units by 2026. Crazy numbers.

The glasses have cameras, a Meta AI assistant, speakers, the whole works. Styles and configurations are bound to shift, but what’s new there?

Oh, and back in April, Bloomberg spilled that Meta might be eyeing more smart glasses. Maybe ones with displays, sporty ones from Oakley, stuff like that. Meanwhile, Google’s throwing its hat in the ring too, with collaborations with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster for different Android XR Glasses. Busy field, for sure.

Heck, even Apple might be stirring the pot, rumor says they’re crafting a power-efficient chip for their smart glasses. It’s all happening, right? The tech world never sleeps.