Google’s first retail store will sell phones and other gadgets to open in NY

May 21, 2021: On Thursday, Google announced its first-ever retail store, where it’s planning to sell Pixel phones, Fitbit wearables, Pixelbooks, Nest thermostats and speakers, etc.

The new store will be located Chelsea neighborhood of New York City at Google’s office and is very near to an Apple Store. The store is expected to open this summer.

Google has toyed with retail before also, sometimes with little pop-up shops where people can search online for new gadgets when they’re announced publicly. But it has relied on its website and other retailers to sell its hardware and services.

Google plans to take a different approach, more akin to Apple, by making a space where people can join and try its products and be supported.

If it helps Google too, at least if it stays additional open stores since it hasn’t offered many ways for customers to try its products before buying them outside of “experience” mini-shops in places such as Best Buy.

Some tech companies, such as Apple, are even more at retail than others.

Microsoft announced last June that it was closing its 83 Microsoft Store locations permanently because it found its online sales were increasing and that it was better to serve customers online instead of the stores.

The Google Store will offer technical support for the company’s devices, including fixing cracked phone screens.

Google said it would require social distancing, masks, and hand sanitation for customers and employees as it follows local and national guidelines during the Covid-19 pandemic.