Google plans on opening “experience centers” in India as per three sources who spoke to Economic Times. While the plans are not yet finalized, Google is tentatively planning on opening the stores in the second half of 2018. The company has also hired a senior Apple executive to put its plan into action.
Google is taking the decision to open retail stores in India after the positive response it received for its pop-up stores that it had opened across key malls in major cities in the country to showcase the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. These pop-up stores were located in premium upscale malls and Google is now trying to open its experience stores in same malls as well.
Google will also use these experience stores to highlight other products that it sells in India, including its DayDream VR headset, Chromecast, and more.
Google is not going to be the first OEM to consider opening retail stores in India. All major smartphone players in the country like Samsung, Oppo, Vivo, Apple, and Xiaomi have a physical presence across major cities and malls in the country to attract prospective buyers. In fact, the rapid offline expansion in India over the last six months has led Xiaomi to post tremendous growth and become the number one smartphone manufacturer in the country.
Google sells the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL online exclusively through Flipkart. The handset is also available offline through major retailers. Last year, Google had only made the original Pixel available for purchase online through Flipkart only.