Meta Plans to Expand Retail Locations Amid Growing Smart Glasses Competition

Ugh, Meta and retail, right? Been dancing around that thought for ages. So, get this—Business Insider spills the beans. Apparently, Meta’s all fired up to ditch playing coy with that single store routine. Hiring folks, plotting more physical spots, yada yada. Sounds like they’re taking a page from Apple’s playbook—well, kind of. Not everyone at Meta’s in the loop yet, though. Classic.

Remember that LA pop-up from last year? Buzz city. But it’s not their first rodeo—they’ve tried these pop-up shindigs a bunch. Even roped in Best Buy to show off VR headsets—kind of smart, kinda sneaky.

Oh, and there’s this legit Meta Store chilling in Burlingame, California. Cozy spot right by the Reality Labs. Imagine testing out Quest 3 stuff and these quirky Ray-Ban smart shades. Seriously, Ray-Ban and Meta? Yeah, a thing. And guess what—a million pairs sold in 2024 alone! Zuckerberg was all over it. “A great start,” he says. Typical.

Here’s the kicker. EssilorLuxottica’s big boss, Francesco Milleri, chatted about cranking out 10 million of these smart glasses by 2026. Wowza. The glasses, they’ve got cameras, Meta’s AI voice in them—like having a tiny robot whispering things in your ear. Sounds super futuristic but, maybe a tad creepy?

So there’s chatter from Bloomberg about new gear on the horizon. Some wild sport-type shades under Oakley might happen. But Google’s not sitting around—they’re revving up with their own glasses too. Warby Parker, Gentle Monster, and who knows who else are in on it.

Apple’s not asleep at the wheel either. Rumor has it they’re cooking up some glasses with chips as savvy as those in an Apple Watch. Power efficiency and all that jazz. Cameras, maybe too many cameras? Who knows?

This whole glasses thing—it’s turning into quite the catwalk for tech nerds. Let’s see if everyone’s gonna be rocking these soon. Or maybe it’ll just be one of those fads. Anyway, keeping an eye on it. (Pun totally intended.)