Google To Debut Brick-And Mortar Store Close To Apple Store In New York: Bloomberg

Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL Google will mark its brick-and-mortar debut in New York City, highlighting its initiative to promote its consumer hardware devices, Bloomberg reported.
The store, in Manhattan’s trendy Chelsea neighborhood, will open to the public on Thursday.
The shop, which is a block away from rival Apple Inc’s AAPL 14th Street store, occupies part of the first floor of Google’s New York offices.
Google began trialing with pop-up stores in 2016, the same year it introduced its Pixel smartphone and Nest smart home speaker.
Subsequently, Google introduced a plethora of hardware devices and hosted pop-ups to analyze customer expectations.
The store includes sitting areas, tables, and other furniture made of blond wood and cork to prioritize the products.
Google will limit the number of store visitors. The associates and customers will have to wear masks inside.
The speakers will be next to piles of books and other design knick-knacks to give it a homely feeling. Phones, tablets, and other devices will be operational and untethered to enable customers to figure them out themselves.
There will be a children’s room for an undisturbed shopping experience. There will be a space to use the Pixel phone’s Night Sight feature to take images in the dark and email the photos to themselves.
Google will add a gaming room where three people can play through Google’s Stadia streaming service.
Google will include an Imagination Space partially enclosed by a 17-foot-tall glass round structure, with screens inside to experience advanced Google services that may not be publicly available.
The direct retail channel will allow customers to hear straight from the company and offer feedback.
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