Google Opens Retail Store: Search Engine Identity Crisis
October 9, 2011
After the huge release of Google+, a pretty direct attack on Facebook, Google is now going directly after the Apple giant in the form of retail outlets.
A spokesperson claims it is just something the company is playing around with, but we learn in Business Insider’s article,“Google Just Opened Its First Retail Outlet In London,” there is plenty of room for this “experiment” to grow:
…this is exactly how Microsoft got into the retail game a few years ago: by creating ‘Microsoft stores’ within big outlets like Circuit City, Best Buy, and — yes — PC World in 2008. It learned what it needed to know…Google doesn’t have enough products to sell to justify its own line of retail stores. Yet. But by the time it does, look for a gleaming chain ofGoogle Stores to sell whatever it comes up with.
Is this experiment in retail sales really a core competency of Google? I think not. Search engines seem to be having a major identity crisis these days, with Google in the lead. Attempts to tackle every market available may leave major areas of search engine systems weak. I assume rectifying the realm of search should be at the top of the agenda, but I remain wrong.
Andrea Hayden, October 09, 2011
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