Meta plans to open its first retail store as it highlights metaverse-related products.

Meta, the corporate previously often called Fb, mentioned on Monday that it deliberate to open its first bodily storefront subsequent month, as it really works to rework itself into a frontrunner of the metaverse.

The corporate mentioned it might open the doorways to the Meta Retailer, situated at its campus in Burlingame, Calif., on Might 9. The shop will showcase Meta’s {hardware}, together with the Quest 2 digital actuality headset, the Portal video calling machine and the Ray-Ban Tales sensible sun shades. Prospects can check out the gadgets to experiment with digital and augmented actuality and buy the gadgets within the retailer or later on-line at Meta’s or Ray-Ban’s web sites.

In November, The New York Occasions reported on the event of the Meta Retailer, primarily based on inside paperwork and folks with information of the corporate’s plans.

“One of the simplest ways to grasp digital actuality is to expertise it,” Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s founder and chief govt, mentioned in a press release.

Mr. Zuckerberg has plunged his firm headlong into pursuing his imaginative and prescient of the so-called metaverse, a futuristic digital world the place folks transfer from digital to augmented variations of actuality virtually seamlessly. That shift entails getting folks on the platform acclimated to digital actuality and augmented actuality gadgets, which is a serious change for the social networking firm. For many of its 18-year existence, it has targeted on offering free software program merchandise to customers, supported by promoting.

Mr. Zuckerberg considers the digital and augmented actuality gadgets as a steppingstone to a extra related future by which persons are extra comfy with speaking by way of wearable expertise.

The corporate is at work on different {hardware} merchandise, like a smartwatch and extra high-tech augmented actuality glasses. Mr. Zuckerberg has mentioned he expects it would take years for mass adoption of the expertise.