According to a report by The New York Times, Facebook is now known as Meta and plans to open physical retail shops where customers can experience its wide range of products, including Oculus headsets.
According to the report, Facebook executives had first suggested the idea of a physical store in the last year. However, the company's recent rebranding to "Meta" has given the project more momentum. According to The New York Times's initial designs, the store features a minimalist and modern design. Meta wants customers to feel close and curious. The company considered several names for its store chain, with the most popular being "Facebook Store".
According to company documents, The Times read them. The stores' purpose is to "make the world more open and connected." According to company documents, they are intended to elicit emotions such as "curiosity and closeness" as well as feelings of "welcome," while using headsets in an "judgment-free trip." According to documents, the early designs of Meta's stores were modern with a minimalistic aesthetic to the exteriors and subtle placements of the Facebook brand. According to the documents, the company thought of naming its stores Facebook Hub and Facebook Commons, Facebook Innovations and Facebook Reality Store, but ultimately settled on the Facebook Store as the best candidate.
Facebook's metabranding to Meta is part of Mark Zuckerberg’s vision to transform Facebook into more than a social media company. It will also be a metaverse company. Zuckerberg stated that the rename laid the foundation for the next chapter in his company's history. Although the app has been renamed Meta, Facebook will still be known as Facebook. Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and other services will remain the same.
Meta would open a physical store in Burlingame, California if it moves ahead with the plan to open a retail shop. The report states that this would be Meta's first physical presence. Meta boasts over 3.5 billion users worldwide. As part of the rebrand, the "Facebook Store" will allow users to try various Oculus products. The Meta Quest will replace the Oculus Quest.
In an apparent attempt to influence public opinion and scrutiny, Facebook announced earlier this week that it would cease facial recognition of 1 billion users and erase all data it currently has. Meta, the "metaverse company," clarified that it would not do the same. Meta, instead, is "exploring ways of incorporating biometrics into its evolving metaverse business."
