Meta's Metaverse Ambitions Hit A Roadblock

Meta Platforms Inc's META Quest brand of virtual reality headsets are not seeing high sales this busy shopping season. The reluctance of shoppers to try on the headsets in stores is a crucial reason.

These headsets, known to collect grime and interfere with makeup, were especially avoided during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, despite Meta's efforts to sanitize them between uses, Bloomberg reports.

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Even post-pandemic, people rem

ain uncomfortable with the idea of wearing VR headsets in public settings. Meta sells Quest through mobile carriers like AT&T Inc T, T-Mobile US, Inc TMUS, and Verizon Communications Inc VZ, where customers are used to handling gadgets. 

However, the idea of wearing something on the face that others have used is different from touching a shared phone.

Sales of Quest headsets in carrier stores have been low, prompting some stores to move them to less prominent areas. 

This situation is challenging because VR technology often requires firsthand experience to be appreciated, as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has noted.

Meta had plans to open its retail stores, named Meta Store, with a showroom already in Burlingame, CA, and more planned for New York and Chicago.

 However, it had to scrap the plans due to high costs. With the holiday season underway and facing competition from Apple Inc's AAPL Vision Pro next year, Meta released Quest 3 and adjusted its strategy. 

To encourage trials, Meta extended its return policy, allowing customers to test the devices at home, a move to address concerns about trying headsets in public.

Price Action: META shares traded lower by 2.65% at $323.30 on the last check Thursday.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.