Dive Brief:
- After hosting its pop-up shop in New York, Meta has signed a 10-year lease for its Manhattan Meta Lab NYC store, the tech behemoth announced Wednesday.
- At the Fifth Avenue location, shoppers can test out the company’s AI glasses and Meta Quest’s virtual worlds, the company said.
- Over time, the company wants the space to showcase parts of New York City’s cultural scene, according to the announcement.
Dive Insight:
Meta’s long-term lease in New York City marks its transition toward a permanent retail space. The company opened a Meta Lab pop-up in Los Angeles at the end of 2024. The company now has Meta Lab locations in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Honolulu and Burlingame, California.
Meta debuted its first Meta Store in 2022. Shoppers who visited the 1,550-square-foot location in Burlingame, California, could test out its smart glasses, video chat products and VR headsets. The company set up shop near its Reality Labs headquarters, where it developed its metaverse technology at that time.
Meta wants its New York store to extend beyond just a retail space.
“Our people-first approach to experiential retail is rooted in culture, creativity, and self-expression — and it’s driving meaningful sales and awareness of our AI wearables,” Matt Jacobson, vice president and creative director of wearables at Meta, said in a statement. “Placing our flagship store alongside the brands that help define culture, will distinguish Meta Lab from traditional consumer electronics retail. There’s no better home than NYC to innovate, and we’ll continue to celebrate the community while making our products easy to see, try, and understand.”
As Meta showcases its smart eyewear to customers, other brands have ventured into the space. Through a deal with Authentic Brands Group, Innovative Eyewear entered a global licensing agreement to develop the Nautica Smart Eyewear collections. Eddie Bauer, another brand in the Authentic Brands Group portfolio, debuted its own smart eyewear collection, which comes in four styles and features voice access to ChatGPT.
