Meta’s next venture into wearable tech has taken a real-world twist, with the opening of a pop-up experiential retail space, Meta Lab, in Los Angeles. This temporary store opened its doors on November 8th and will stick around until the end of 2024, offering fans of Meta’s Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses a chance to try before they buy in a way that goes beyond the typical retail experience.

Meta Lab’s setup isn’t just about tech tryouts. In addition to testing out the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, customers can personalize their glasses cases—a subtle nudge toward making the devices feel both high-tech and uniquely yours. Beyond product interaction, Meta Lab plans to host a mix of local events aimed at engaging the creative SoCal crowd: think stand-up comedy nights, live podcast tapings, and even cooking classes, designed to pull in a diverse audience. The theme is distinctly LA, with nods to local lowrider culture, infusing the space with an urban aesthetic that sets it apart from Meta’s earlier experiences.

This pop-up is an evolution of Meta’s experiments with in-person events. Earlier this year, the company set up a similar space at its Connect 2024 event, which offered attendees a glimpse of the smart glasses, including a prototype model with transparent lenses. It drew major interest, with over 90% of attendees stopping by, and an impressive 25% ultimately buying a pair. The Connect experience generated enough momentum for Meta to think bigger, albeit without jumping into full-time brick-and-mortar investments. By setting up short-term retail spaces, Meta can showcase its glasses in high-traffic cities like LA, without the overhead of a permanent location.

In a nod to California’s laid-back vibe, the Meta Lab pop-up even includes an “immersion experience room,” where visitors can explore a lifelike, AI-generated Malibu beach. With panoramic views and soundscapes, this setup feels like a direct shot at making Meta’s tech appeal to both a tech-curious crowd and those who just want to hang out in a cool space.

While Meta isn’t alone in testing pop-ups as a way to push smart glasses into the mainstream, it’s worth noting that the appeal (and financial viability) of wearable tech in a retail space is still largely experimental. Snap, for example, initially marketed its Spectacles via vending machines strategically dropped in high-foot-traffic locations across the country. Then there was Focals by North, a more niche smart glasses brand that set up a mobile pop-up and even ran a temporary storefront in Brooklyn, inviting locals to see the product firsthand and go through personalized fittings.

Meta’s pop-up could easily be part of a larger trend in how wearable tech is sold. With significant resources backing its Ray-Ban Meta line, Meta is treading lightly, opting to invest in a series of short-lived, theme-based retail locations to figure out the best way forward. A Meta Lab pop-up is already planned for Phoenix next January, although the company hasn’t revealed whether or not future cities are on the agenda.

What’s clear is that Meta is experimenting, not only with wearable tech but also with how it reaches consumers. These pop-ups function as a live testing ground, allowing Meta to gauge interest, refine customer experience, and assess demand for the glasses in physical spaces.