Google Store
IndustryRetail
FoundedMarch 11, 2015; 9 years ago (2015-03-11)
Number of locations
3
1 upcoming
ProductsTechnology
Brands
OwnerGoogle
Websitestore.google.com

Google Store is a hardware retail store operated by Google that sells Google Pixel devices, Google Nest products, Chromecast dongles, Fitbit devices, and accessories such as earbuds, phone cases, chargers, and keyboards. It also sold Nexus, Daydream, Stadia and Cardboard devices until their discontinuations. Google Store sells products made by Google or made in collaboration with that company. It was introduced on March 11, 2015, and replaced the Devices section of Google Play as Google's hardware retailer. It is overseen by Ana Corrales, who is also the COO of Google's Devices & Services division.

Google has experimented with physical locations as well. In October 2016, it opened a pop-up shop in New York City to display its then-recently announced hardware products, and the following month it opened "Google Shops", store-within-a-store locations at select Best Buy stores in Canada. In 2021, Google announced that they would be opening a physical Google Store as part of its Chelsea Market campus in New York City, which opened on June 17.

Locations

Online

On the Internet, the Google Store replaced the Devices section on the Google Play website.[1]

Pop-up stores

London

In March 2015, Google opened a store-within-a-store within a branch of British electrical retailer Currys, at Tottenham Court Road, London. It has since closed.[2][3]

Pop-up showroom

Interior of the Made by Google pop-up showroom in New York City

In October 2016, Google opened Made by Google, a temporary pop-up showroom in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City. The space offered a glimpse at hardware products the company had recently developed, including the Pixel smartphone, Google Home smart speaker, and Daydream View virtual reality headset.[4][5][6]

Best Buy

In November 2016, Google opened "Google Shop", a store-within-a-store where Google displays its hardware products. The Google Shops, available at select Best Buy locations in Canada, gives Google a retail presence that's "been key to building a premium mobile device customer base that’s sizable and loyal, and it’s not something Google has really had with its previous Nexus program". The Shops are "distinctly Google", with visual aesthetics featuring "light wood grain and gray fabric pairing up with playful hints of bright colors", along with "custom-created modular furniture that nests when standing room is limited, but can easily accommodate, say, a small group of students with stool seating in a pinch". In a comment to TechCrunch, Janell Fischer, Google's Director of Retail Marketing, said that "We love it when people can come in, discover, play and have fun and it just happens to be with technology. So we’ve really tried to layer on lots of different immersive sorts of experiences, some that are direct demonstrations of the product and product features, but some that are more exploratory and fun". Each Google Shop "could have unique digital content tailored to the city wherein it resides".[7]

Brick-and-mortar

Chelsea Market

In May 2021, Google announced that it would be opening a physical retail store as part of its Chelsea Market campus in New York City, next to its New York offices.[8][9] Similar to the Apple Store, the Google Store Chelsea showcases Google's hardware products including Pixel, Nest, Chromecast, Fitbit, and Pixelbook devices,[10] subscription services such as Google Stadia and Google Fi Wireless,[11] software products such as Google Translate and Google Duo,[12] as well as exclusive merchandise.[13] It opened on June 17, 2021.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

In May 2022, Google announced during the 2022 Google I/O keynote that a second physical Google Store would open in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.[14] It opened on June 16, 2022.[15]

Google Visitor Experience

In September 2023, Google announced that a third physical Google Store would be opened in the new Google Visitor Experience visitor center next to the Googleplex in Mountain View, California, the first Google Store on the West Coast. The store opened alongside the visitor's center on October 12, 2023.[16]

Upcoming

Newbury Street

A location at 149 Newbury Street in Boston, MA is expected to open in 2024.[17]

Awards

Google Store received the 2016 Webby Award in the Consumer Electronics category.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ Bowers, Andrew (March 11, 2015). "Meet the updated Chromebook Pixel and the new Google Store". Official Google Blog. Google. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  2. ^ Barber, Lynsey (2015-03-11). "Google Shop London in pictures: Inside the search giant's first ever physical shop on Tottenham Court Road". City A.M.
  3. ^ Kharpal, Arjun (2015-03-11). "Google opens its first ever store in London". CNBC.
  4. ^ Lee, Dami (October 20, 2016). "Google's New York City pop-up shop is now open". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  5. ^ Gilbert, Ben (October 19, 2016). "We toured Google's new pop-up store in New York City - here's what it's like". Business Insider. Axel Springer SE. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  6. ^ Heater, Brian (October 20, 2016). "A trip to Google's New York City Pop-Up Shop". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  7. ^ Etherington, Darrell (November 18, 2016). "Inside Google Shop, where Google is reinventing how it sells devices". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  8. ^ Gartenberg, Chaim (2021-05-20). "Google is opening its first physical retail store this summer in NYC". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
  9. ^ Li, Abner (2021-06-14). "Google Store Chelsea opens on Thursday, June 17". 9to5Google. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
  10. ^ "Welcome to the new Google Store in NYC". Google. 2021-05-20. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
  11. ^ Google Fi [@GoogleFi] (June 17, 2021). "If you're in NYC, come say hi to Fi at the new Google Store! 👋" (Tweet). Retrieved June 17, 2021 – via Twitter. ((cite web)): |author1= has generic name (help)
  12. ^ Li, Abner (2021-06-16). "Here's a tour of the first Google Store in New York City". 9to5Google. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  13. ^ "Google's first retail store is a space to sell, fix and show off its products". Engadget. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  14. ^ Malik, Aisha (May 11, 2022). "Google is opening its second physical store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  15. ^ Sarangapurkar, Vishnu. "Google's second physical store opens its doors in Williamsburg, Brooklyn". Android Central. Archived from the original on June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  16. ^ Li, Abner (September 7, 2023). "'Google Visitor Experience' opening in Mountain View with Store, cafe, and more". 9to5Google. Archived from the original on September 8, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  17. ^ Egan, Gwen. "Boston is getting a Google store, one of a handful in the U.S." www.boston.com. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  18. ^ "Google Store". Webby Award. Retrieved January 31, 2017.

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