The first Google Store in London

Google has opened it's first store in London - in PC World in Tottenham Court Road. Unlike the hugely hyped launch of the first Apple Store in Regent Street, very few customers were even aware of the Google shop - officially known as "the Chromezone" - and there were certainly no queues round the block.

The 285sqft pop-up "shop within a shop", which only sells Google's Chromebook laptop and a few accessories such as headphones, will run for three months up to Christmas.

But if the low-key experiment is successful Google could follow its great rival Apple in opening permanent stores around the world.

Arvind Desikan, head of consumer marketing at Google UK, said: "It is our first foray into physical retail. This is a new channel for us and it's still very, very early days. It's something Google is going to play with and see where it leads."

He said the company's research had shown that 80 per cent of laptop sales are through shops.
He added: "We found anecdotally that when people tried the device and played with it, that made a huge difference to their understanding of what the Chromebook is all about. People will be able to go in and have a play with the devices. We want to see whether people understand what this device is all about and monitor their reaction when they try it out."

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Google's first store pops up in London - thisislondon.co.uk