Google may not be ready to call itself a successful online retailer, but it seems they may be taking the next step very soon. If the latest rumors are to be trusted, Google could be releasing its very own physical retail store by this year’s holiday season. Yes, you might be doing your Christmass shopping at a Google store this year!
The source comes from 9to5Google, who claims this is an “extremely reliable source”. We have no idea what that means, but they must be pretty sure that the insider has a good sense of what goes on behind Google’s closed doors.
The idea seems to have sparked from wanting to market Google Glass to the general consumer. The best way to do this would be to hand the units to shoppers and let them test the emerging piece of technology. Having the expensive and rare devices available in a retail store could mean the difference between failure and success, if you ask us.
Though we are quickly moving to an internet-dominated market, brick and mortar stores still play a huge part of marketing. Consumers want to be able to use something before making the decision to purchase it. They want to hold it, feel it, smell it, use it, see its capabilities, experience it first-hand and compare it to the competition.
It’s the same reason why people go to dealers instead of just ordering a car from the manufacturer’s site. I know I often purchase products at Best Buy instead of Amazon for this very reason, even though Amazon tends to have products a bit lower priced most times.
Of course, Google would also be taking a huge risk. They have been offering a rather depressing experience selling their own few devices from the Google Play Store. We understand online and physical retail stores are completely different entities and they could end up offering the best experience, but the Search Giant simply hasn’t proven itself in this area.
Our very own Quentyn has recently written a great editorial on this topic. He goes into detail about the pros and cons of Google opening a retail store, so check that article out to learn more about what could come out of this.
