Ray-Ban Meta smartglasses have already gained popularity due to their uncanny resemblance to some of EssilorLuxottica’s top-selling sunglasses – only with the added convenience of discreetly integrated cameras, audio capabilities, battery life, and onboard AI, all powered by a remarkably small Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 Gen1 processor. As Meta debuts its latest pop-up retailer in Los Angeles today, the company hopes to gauge whether its innovative approach can successfully transition into wider market acceptance.
Meta dubs this innovative LA retailer “experiential retail”, mirroring its own Meta Lab pop-up at Join 2024 in October, where attendees could try on Ray-Ban Meta smartglasses, capture images and videos, retain the resulting data, and even purchase custom-made pairs of the $300 glasses on-site.
By premiering its concept in LA, Artistic Director Matt Jacobson aims to leverage word-of-mouth marketing, empowering customers to become the most effective ambassadors of the brand.
With a sleek pair of Ray-Ban Meta glasses emblazoned on its surface – complete with discreetly glowing LED privacy lights – this innovative pop-up experience will only be available until December 31st in LA, but rest assured: it won’t be the last we’ve seen of this groundbreaking concept.
The corporation’s next pop-up is intentionally targeting Phoenix, Arizona in January, labeling it an “authentic shop-in-shop,” with the exact location remaining a mystery until further notice.
Can we build a retail experience within someone else’s organization? Can we attract visitors to our website and potentially tap into their advertising efforts, complementing our own marketing initiatives? By the end of January, we will likely have completed our analysis of the three expressions of experiential, first-party retail.
At the Meta Lab location, beyond merely hosting people to work on and acquire Ray-Ban smartglasses, The corporation emphasizes the importance of “common programming,” which seamlessly integrates stand-up comedy with Desi Banks, live podcasting with Madeline Argy, a ‘paint and sip’ evening featuring Tinashe, a Meta-focused workshop led by Director Drex Lee, and a cooking class instructed by Cassie Yeung.
Meta aims to disseminate its research insights to EssilorLuxottica, which maintains a vast retail network of more than 17,000 stores globally, as well as to third-party partners. Meta has expanded its smartglasses collaboration with the eyewear giant through a multi-year agreement extending to 2030.
While LA and Phoenix events might initially be limited in scope, they could potentially generate more interest and encourage further participation.
“We’ll scale up around 100 of these, but initially, we’ll build some at various locations nationwide and then assess whether we need to add more first-party retail.” That is aspirational, inspirational. While they may not scale up based on their visual appearance alone, they are scalable,” Jacobson explains.
