Google LLC today revealed plans to open a retail location in New York, its first-ever physical store, where visitors will have the opportunity to test and purchase devices from the search giant’s consumer hardware lineup.

Google’s inaugural Google Store (pictured) is being set up in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, home to many of the offices used by Google’s 11,000-plus New York City employees. The search giant expects to open the location to the public in the summer. 

On offer will be products from search giant’s steadily expanding consumer electronics lineup, which it has been building out through a combination of internal engineering and acquisitions. The product selection available to shoppers will include Google’s popular Pixel-branded Android phones. Outside the handset category, Google plans to sell devices from its Nest smart home gadget family and Pixelbook laptop series.

In the announcement today, Jason Rosenthal, the vice president of Google’s direct channels and membership business, also specifically pointed out the Fitbit smartwatch series. The search giant acquired Fitbit for $2.1 billion earlier this year following a lengthy regulatory review. The deal bought Google the ability to take on Apple in another segment of the consumer electronics market, wearables, where the iPhone maker competes with the Apple Watch.

Google’s New York store will share at least one similarity with the iPhone maker’s retail locations. Rosenthal detailed today that “we’ll have experts on hand to help visitors get the most out of their device, such as troubleshooting an issue, fixing a cracked Pixel screen or helping with installations.” Apple provides access to onsite technical support teams as well at Apple Stores via its Genius Bar service.

Apple operates 270 retail locations in the U.S. that it reopened in March and has hundreds more worldwide. The company doesn’t break out revenue from its stores, which suggests they account for a relatively minor portion of hardware sales. But even a small percentage of Apple’s revenue can be significant given that the company posted sales of more than $89 billion last quarter.

Apple opened its first two stores at the turn of the millennium and reached $1 billion in annual revenues within three years. For Google, which is growing its Pixel smartphone business from a narrower revenue base than Apple’s iPhones, moving into retail might create a valuable opportunity to accelerate its hardware group’s sales momentum. 

The search giant didn’t specify whether it plans to open additional stores after the New York location. However, Google did say that it may look to “build upon” the initial store. “We look forward to meeting many of our customers and hearing their feedback on the store, so we can continue to explore and experiment with the possibilities of a physical retail space and build upon the experience,” Rosenthal wrote in the announcement today. 

The store might also provide a useful product testing environment for Google’s cloud business. Both of Google’s top rivals in the public cloud, Amazon.com Inc. through its Amazon Web Services Inc. unit and Microsoft Corp., have shown interest in developing products for retailers. Amazon last year started selling technology for building cashierless stores and Microsoft teamed up with Kroger Co. in 2019 to build a retail automation platform. Google, if it decides to move in the same direction, could use its store to pilot new retail technologies.

Google has so far shared relatively details about how the store will operate. However, the search giant did share that it plans to implement extensive health and safety policies. “Masks, hand sanitation and social distancing will be required in the Google Store, and we’ll clean all spaces multiple times a day,” Google’s Rosenthal detailed. “The number of guests inside will be limited to ensure our customers feel safe during their shopping experience, and easy pickup options will also be available.”

Google isn’t the first Apple competitor to take aim at the iPhone maker’s retail network. Microsoft maintained a network of 80-physical stores until not long ago to promote its consumer hardware and software products, but the company reorganized the operation in 2020. Microsoft said last June that it would consolidate operations around a handful of Experience Centers on the premises of its flagship stores in London, New York City and Sydney. 

Photo: Google