The Quest 3 dummy unit is unstablely secured to the table, with Quest 2 floping forward to the face next to it.
The new Quest 3S hasn’t been able to see what has come up everywhere for almost a year. Each headset came with a single sad controller strapped to the table next to it. I don’t know if they are meant to be visible on only one controller or if the second controller was there. In any case, it was clear that no one had paid attention or attention to this display for a very long time.
There were no accessories. There are no boxed units that someone is ready to take home. Just devastation, negligence, sadness. This is my recent experience at the Best Buy Store and what is the status of VR Retail?
There is no technology that requires more direct experience than virtual reality. Trying to explain VR to someone who has never worn a headset is like trying to explain to someone who has never tasted the apple flavor. You can’t speak your way to understand it. You have to try it. The struggle for VR to reach the mass market always comes down to that missing step. In the early days, running VR hardware required a powerful gaming PC. Oculus Go and Oculus Quest changed that by enabling standalone VR and ultimately putting it within the reach of the average consumer. However, there is still no good way for most people to try out the product before buying.
Most people who have spent time in VR can vividly remember their first experience. The trick is to link the moment to sales and do it on a scale that doesn’t leave the headset tainted for the next person to try.
Apart from Apple, Meta is the only company that has a real retail push. But they only have one brick and mortar store. On a large scale, they rely on partners such as Best Buy, Target, and Walmart. And the results are very inconsistent. Certainly, some Meta Quest kiosks are well stocked and maintained. But many others are ignored, damaged or neglected, like the disasters they encountered in the shadows of New York City.
Apple nails the in-store demo experience for all Flaks caught for Vision Pro pricing. Its retail footprint has always been part of its secret source. Customers will try their products in low pressure environments and then return after sales for service and support. Customer experience has declined and flowed over the years, but one truth remains. To understand how apple products feel, you need to use them in the store for just a few minutes.
Apple’s new store has a dedicated Vision Pro Side Room
Contrary to the public’s perception of Apple’s sentiment towards Vision Pro, the company’s new store includes a dedicated side room for headsets.
Apple will take this further with Vision Pro. All demos are carefully choreographed to highlight the best features of the headset, from immersive spatial videos and photography to productivity tools and entertainment. The content is not random. This is a curated showcase designed to provide the most impactful first impression possible.
By the end of the demo, customers are looking at their devices at their absolute best, and neither guesswork nor clunky menus have missed the opportunity to impress.
Meta has made several attempts. Like Batman: Arkham Shadow last October, we filmed a roadshow demo on tour eventdesigned to showcase both the franchise and Quest 3. However, these efforts are short-lived and tied to a particular game, place or moment and do not become a consistent retail strategy.
What you need is a more robust infrastructure for demonstrations. That means Meta will open more of their own stores (as the report suggests), or as an investment of more money in partner displays or other solutions, the fact remains. VR must simply be experienced to be understood.
Another problem is the software itself. Meta’s Horizon OS does not include the proper “demo mode.” This is a streamlined control experience designed for first-time users. Instead, the standard onboarding process can feel clumsy, confusing or overwhelming in a retail setting, especially for those who have never been exposed to VR before. If Meta is serious about consumer recruitment, why not build a sophisticated demo environment directly on your OS? Take people instantly into unforgettable moments of existence without the setup screen, menus, or friction. Without it, even the best retail displays will struggle to offer the WOW factor that would sell headsets.
Meta recently opened a second front where this is important. The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are a hit, and the Oakley HSTN version has already been released, and it’s even further. HUD glasses are attracting attention, and true augmented reality (AR) glasses are the ultimate goal. For now, Meta is benefiting from Essilorluxottica’s retail footprint. However, its upcoming AR glasses are reportedly not Essilorluxottica products, which means that Meta will ultimately need its own dedicated retail presence. Something that can handle demos, fittings, prescriptions and basic repair services. Think of a lens crafter, but it comes with a display.
And it’s exactly the kind of environment where the Environment Quest Headset can benefit from today. A dedicated space to place people who know the product and how to demonstrate it, creating the first amazing moment that breaks its brain.
Meta can open more stores to sell headsets and glasses
Meta plans to open more retail stores, Business Insider reports. Currently, Burlingame, California has one physical metastore, selling Quest Headsets and Ray-Ban Smart Glasses.
It is unknown that Meta’s long-term retail strategy is expanding its wearable business. Maybe you’ll hear more in Meta Connect 2025 in three weeks. But this is clear. If VR moves beyond that niche, you can’t leave the magic of the first demo to chance. Meta or others must give appropriate demonstrations to hundreds of millions of people.
