Google is following up its introduction of physical items to sell (such as the Pixel phone introduced on October 4) with a physical location to sell them in. A “Made by Google” pop-up store will open on October 20 in New York City’s trendy SoHo neighborhood.
Even though a pop-up store is by its nature a limited-time operation, Google’s move is a strong indication that the brand, like e-Tail giant Amazon, recognizes the need for a real-world footprint. Amazon has opened bookstores in several cities and also is reportedly planning to open as many as 100 pop-up locations that will sell its own technology hardware.
While Google is not sharing many details about the brick-and-mortar store beyond the location and opening date, presumably it will showcase products such as the Home by Google speaker, which offers hands-free help from the Google Assistant; the Daydream View VR head set; and Chromecast, which allows consumers to stream entertainment from their phones, tablets or laptops to their TVs and speakers.
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Google brings enormous resources, reach and marketing clout to its initiatives, making it a potentially formidable competitor for Amazon. If this does become a battle of titans, it raises questions about what the impact will be on more traditional retailers.
