Google’s first retail store is the anti-Apple

出现二十二年后，Google终于在明天早上开设了第一家实体店。

该商店位于切尔西的Google纽约总部底楼，将是探索和购买Google硬件的地方，包括Pixel电话和巢设备，并将产品带入维修产品。但是，根据Google的硬件设计副总裁，UX和Research，他还担任Google商店的创意总监Ivy Ross表示，这也将不仅如此。这将是消费者沉浸在Google宇宙中，并了解该公司如何将其技术融入我们的生活的地方。罗斯说：“这个空间旨在成为Google代表的物理表达。”

这家商店是一个5,000平方英尺的空间，占用了一个完整的城市街区，大窗户的大窗户用阳光覆盖木地板。虽然许多技术商店（包括苹果和特斯拉）的设计旨在看起来未来派，并带有鲜明的白色和金属灰色的调色板，但Google Store的天然美感，展示了由淡木制成的家具和地板。这是一个故意的选择。罗斯说：“我们希望该空间继续从我们的产品中散发出的设计原理。”“我们的哲学是，技术必须适合我们的生活，而不是脱颖而出。我们希望这个空间感到人性化，因为我们认为技术是扩大我们作为人类可能性的工具。”

最终，空间更像是互动博物馆或探险家，而不是零售店。墙上有一堵墙，巢家族中的每个产品都有下面的物体的名称，就像您在自然历史博物馆中看到的那样。在中间，有旨在模仿房屋的特定房间的家具，从儿童游戏室到厨房，并散布在Google硬件上。沿着窗户，有18个“ Discovery Boxes”，其中包含3D动画，这些动画讲述了有关特定Google产品的故事，例如进入Nest扬声器的回收材料。

One of the most compelling areas is a large installation in the middle that allows visitors to immerse themselves in an aspect of Google’s software by stepping into a small room surrounded by three enormous LED screens. Right now, the exhibit is focused on Google Translate: You can say a phrase, which is then translated into 24 languages that appear on the screens and are whispered in each language. “When I stand there, I get this incredible feeling of oneness with the universe,” Ross says. This exhibit will change every few months, so in time it could feature artistic explorations of Google Maps or Search.

There are three other rooms toward the back that are described as “sandboxes” because they give customers a chance to play around with different technology. One is for Pixel phones and tablets, another is devoted to gaming, and the third is designed to look like a living room that illustrates how useful Nest products can be. In many ways, the Google Store is a prime example of experiential commerce, meaning it’s not only a place for consumers to test and buy product, but also a destination to have entertaining experiences that help them develop a stronger attachment to the brand. It has been a growing trend over the past five years. “Some brands, I think, are having trouble making the leap toward experiential [retail],” Ross says. “The beauty of this brand is that it is inherently experiential. My job was to bring that beauty to life.”

Ross worked closely with the award-winning architect Suchi Reddy, owner of the firm Reddymade, to design and build the space. The two have collaborated in the past on an exhibit for the Milan Design Fair that explored how physical spaces change the way we feel. That exhibit featured research from Johns Hopkins Medical School about the emerging field of neuroaesthetics, which looks at how the aesthetics around us—from color to texture—affect our bodies. “We have agency over what we surround ourselves with, and those choices can enhance our physiology and our mental or physical well-being,” Ross says. That project profoundly shaped how they conceptualized the Chelsea store.

Google商店会取得成功吗？分析公司TechSpoysentials的首席分析师Avi Greengart说，这一点尚不清楚。从投资昂贵的房地产到代表该品牌的培训零售人员，推出零售商店是一家技术公司的昂贵且复杂的努力。Greengart指出，Google通过在已经拥有的建筑物中建造其第一家商店，并密切关注正在发生的事情，从而减少了一些风险。他说：“这似乎是一个试验气球。”“这并不是宣布Google在全球建立一家商店的舰队，这是他们要有认真的零售业务所需要做的。”

格林加特指出了微软是一个警示性的故事。2009年，该公司开始在全国开设商店，试图复制苹果的成功，但它们并不像预期的那样受欢迎或有利可图，因此，微软去年宣布将其全部116个关闭。格林加特（Greengart）认为，微软的错误正在使用其商店来尝试出售其巨大产品系列，而不是提供丰富而引人入胜的体验。如果它更好地策划了商店中的产品并专注于讲故事，那么它可能会有更好的机会。格林加特说：“微软试图做太多事情。”“另一方面，苹果公司擅长创造一种体验，使您觉得自己生活在苹果生态系统中。问题是，Google有类似的故事要讲吗？”

罗斯认为Google确实有一个引人入胜的故事。在过去的七年中，她在Google的工作一直是通过实体产品讲述这个故事。在某些方面，Google商店是她作品的自然扩展。“ Google最初是搜索引擎，” Ross说。“公众对Google作为实体的感觉或[它的代表什么都没有感觉。我们希望Google向您传达的是我们是人类；对于我们来说，通过商店为品牌提供体验的体验是有意义的。”