Earlier today Google opened up their very first physical retail store in London, England. Up until now there hasn’t been any real physical retail storefronts for Google and their products, only online through the devices section of the Play Store(which has now shifted sales to the Google Store that also opened up this morning)and through numerous third party retail partners like Best Buy and others. With Google’s first physical retail store opening up they finally have a proper location to show off the very best of all Google has to offer.
Business Insider was able to visit Google’s retail shop which is located inside of a Curry’s PC World store on Tottenham Court Road, and grabbed a whole bunch of images so those of us who live nowhere near London are able to see what things look like. Inside, you’ll find that Google has their very own section of the shop with obvious Googley retail displays and just about all current Google products ranging from Android Wear smartwatches like the Moto 360 and others, to Chromebooks, the Nexus Player, smartphones like the Nexus 6 and tablets like the Nexus 9. Google’s Chromecast is also on display, and there are likely accessories available for nearly all of the products as well, similar to what one might see from the small offering in a Best Buy shop which has a tiny,(yet visible)section dedicated to Google and Chrome products.
The whole experience looks to be rather playful and unmistakably “Google,” with noticeable Google colors strewn about the entire floor space and comfortable seats to sit on that are placed in front of a little table with tablets and phones attached, so people can relax and check things out in what would feel like a natural setting if they already owned the products. There is even a doodle wall that’s made up of a giant display which lets customers interact with it, keeping the whole theme playful and the experience intuitive. Creating artful masterpieces on the doodle wall only need require customers to use the virtual spray paint can that accompanies this rather interesting piece of tech. There’s even a giant interactive screen that’s connected to a tablet allowing patrons to experience and interact with things like Google Earth and games like Pacman. Just like what you’d see from an official Apple store, all the employees at the Google shop appeared to be trained in all things Google, although Business Insider notes that they seemed to be actual Google employees. Check out the images below to get a glimpse of what other Google retail stores may look like when and if they open up in other regions.
