It isn’t a new concept for a tech company, but perhaps as a mainly services-based company it is – Google is opening a retail store. They have had several pop-up store experiments to showcase and sell its hardware products, and now Google is taking to plunge in opening its first permanent retail store.
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The first Google retail store will be situated in the Chelsea neighbourhood of New York City, where they will primarily feature Google’s own hardware products, including Pixel phones, Nest smart home gadgets, Fitbits, and assorted other devices. According to reports there will also be a selection of third-party accessories and Google-branded items like hats or T-shirts.
While Google has confirmed that this is its “first” store, it hasn’t said where its second or third will be or how long they will wait before rolling out their retail locations to other countries.
Of course, the idea here is to compete with the Apple Store and Microsoft Store. It will be interesting to see how it compares, as Google has significantly less hardware to show off. As such, the initial designs show off a space that is more akin to a showroom than a retail space intended to sell as much product as possible.
There are stools and chairs scattered throughout the main space as well as rooms that Google calls “sandboxes” with product-specific experiences. In one room, customers will go through a little skit of using a Nest hub to answer the door for a delivery person, complete with haptics in the couch to simulate a knock on the door. The room for Pixel phones will showcase their low-light photography feature.
Google says that it will offer on-site repair for Pixel phones and product support for all its hardware devices. It’ll offer some software support as well – though only for its consumer products, not for enterprise users.
The new store opens on June 17th.
