MENLO PARK, Calif. and RICHFIELD, Minn.—Meta (NASDAQ: META) and consumer electronics retailer Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) have announced they will be opening Meta Lab @ Best Buy this summer in 5 stores across the U.S. The shop-in-shop experience, including a 900-square-foot experiential space, is designed to provide customers with a hands-on opportunity to explore Meta’s lineup of AI glasses and VR headsets via services including interactive demos and displays, smart mirrors, and personalized fittings, Best Buy said in its announcement. The first shop is expected to open this month, and by the end of 2026, Meta Lab will be available in more than 50 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada, Meta advised.
In making the announcement, Best Buy noted what the company said is customers’ preference to know the fit, feel and experience of AI glasses before making a purchase, pointing to the importance of demos as well as its own research indicating that more than half of their customers want to see Meta’s AI glasses in person as part of their purchasing decision.
“Our customers are passionate about experiencing what’s next and they turn to Best Buy to bring it to life,” said Patrick McGinnis, chief merchandising officer at Best Buy. “Meta Lab @ Best Buy is an experience customers can’t find at any other retailer and sets a new standard for how our customers will explore, play with and discover the latest cutting-edge tech.”
“Best Buy is an incredible partner,” said Christa Wittenberg, vice president of global retail sales at Meta. “Together we’re reimagining how consumers shop the next generation of personal technology. These are immersive, hands-on spaces built for real discovery—where people can experience firsthand just how stylish, fun, and personal AI glasses and VR really are. We want customers to walk in curious and leave genuinely excited about what’s possible.”
Meta introduced the Meta Lab concept almost 2 years ago at its annual Meta Connect conference in September 2024, with a pop-up location at its Menlo Park, Calif., campus followed soon after by a brick-and-mortar flagship in Los Angeles in November 2024. Since then, the tech giant has opened an East Coast flagship location in New York City, as well as locations in Las Vegas, Honolulu, and Burlingame, California. The shop-in-shop locations at Best Buy now serve as a “natural extension” of the company’s broader Meta Lab experience, Meta noted in its announcement.
At the immersive Meta Lab @ Best Buy shop-in-shops, kicking off with planned openings this summer in San Carlos, Calif., Roseville, Minn., Woodland Park, NJ, Greenville, SC, and Columbus, Ohio, customers can work with a dedicated Meta sales specialist to learn about the products and sample from an assortment of AI glasses and wearable technology. Experiences at the shops include the following:
- Immersive demos of Meta Quest 3, Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses, and other products.
- Try-on and interactive opportunities with AI glasses, including Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta, while learning how to control Meta Ray-Ban Display using the Meta Neural Band.
- Tech-forward displays that allow for try-ons of different shades and styles of the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses using smart mirrors, allowing customers to see the glasses on themselves virtually, browse frames and colors, and take a photo for side-by-side comparison.
Additional locations will be rolling out through the summer and into the holiday season, the companies said. Meta and EssilorLuxottica (ESLX.PA) have been collaborating since 2019 to produce Ray-Ban and Oakley branded smart glasses.
