Now that Google has unveiled their very own hardware and seems to be making a strong marketing push for them, what’s next? Well, apparently, retail stores are the next step. Well, at least, there’s a pop-up store in NYC to start things off. Most brands that do these pop-up things are usually doing a test run for the actual thing, and Google may not be an exemption. This is a great way to show off their recently-announced line of consumer electronic devices that are #MadebyGoogle.
This actually isn’t the first time that Google has gone into retail, as they have had stores inside other stores. But for the pop-up stores that will, well, pop up starting October 20, it will be all Google all the time. Their new products makes it the perfect time to try and experiment with brick and mortar stores, just like what Apple and eventually Microsoft started doing. Now whether or not these limited time stores will eventually turn into a permanent store remains to be seen and will probably depend on the public reception to the pop up store.
Among the new products that they will be displaying at the store are of course their two new smartphones, the Pixel and Pixel XL, which are actually the first manufactured by Google mobile devices. You also have the Daydream View virtual reality headset, which is of course fancier and more expensive than the previous Google Cardboard. You also have the Google Home smart speaker (aka Amazon Echo killer?) and the Google WiFi as well.
We can expect a few more Google hardware products in the near future, so having an actual retail store may not be such a bad idea. However, it will take a lot of money and of course time to create stores across the country to be able to reach a wider market. They will also need to be even more aggressive in their marketing, which they are already doing. The #MadebyGoogle pop-up store will be at 96 Spring Street in New York City starting October 20.
VIA: USA Today
