First Google Shop opens today at Best Buy Canada branch in Mississauga

Text and photos by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Mississauga, ON -Since Google is now a bona fide consumer electronics and hardware maker, it stands to reason that it needs to show off its wares in physical retails stores. Following the opening of their New York pop-up store, Google has decided to team-up with Best Buy Canada and create flagship Google Shop 'store within a store' locations in three Canadian cities.

Opening today at the flagship Best Buy Experience Store in the Heartland Town Centre on Mavis Road, the Google Shop is the first thing one sees upon entering the refreshed store space. Best Buy has changed the layout to cater more to brands rather than specific sections and Google's booth certainly has the prime space here.

Best Buy Experience Stores, "are designed to be flexible and adaptable; to allow us to alter our design and products more quickly in response to customer feedback, new technology and products. For our customers, we have added another dimension to take the in-store experience to the next level to provide expert, individualized guidance and customization to ensure our customers make the best choice for them and their lifestyle," Best Buy explains.

The Google Shop offers a gamut of Made By Google products, most important of which are the new Pixel phones. These are sold unlocked but are tethered to two-year contracts through various carriers, which means you can't just buy one full price and pop in your existing SIM card. 

The Google Shop also features the Daydream VR headset and remote controller, various Chromecast devices as well as accessories such as cables, smartphone cases and of course, the latest Google Chromebooks. Other Made By Google products, including the Google Home smart speaker and Google WiFi aren't yet available in Canada but will likely be sold at these stores once they are cleared for Canadian consumption. 

Google Canada’s “shop within a shop” spaces were officially opened today at the Best Buy location in Mississauga’s Heartland Centre, along with three others in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. The exciting collaboration is part of Best Buy’s redesigned Experience Stores, and today’s opening marks the official culmination of the large coast-to-coast renovation plan that saw upgrades made to more than a dozen locations.

“We are thrilled about the launch of our newly renovated stores and to showcase the new Google shops,” says Ron Wilson, President and COO of Best Buy Canada. “We are committed to providing our customers with the best service and the most exciting tech. We can’t wait for the public to enjoy the special in-store experiences.” 

Other locations in Canada include Dearfoot Meadows and Edmonton South in Alberta and Cambie in Vancouver, British Columbia.

I asked a Google representative if these will be coming soon and the answer was, 'stay tuned.' The look and feel of the Google Shop is very much in tune with Google's aesthetic, something that was very deliberate and which Google had been working one way before the Google Pixel came into being. 

"Comprised of nearly 700 square feet, our new shops are a reflection of the Google hardware brand in a retail space. Even the smallest detail, from the use of curved edges to the hand-picked colour palette, evoke a warm, inviting and playful feel. The shop is fully programmable, meaning its layout can evolve and change as Google’s products do.

Each shop features a structural element inspired by the simplicity and beauty of one of Google’s most iconic tools: the search bar. When you view the designed structure straight on, you can see how it lightly mimics a search bar."

Aside from serving as a point of sale for Google products, the Google Shop will also run various programs for customers. This holiday season, kids can have a Google Hangout with Santa. There will also be a Santa Tracker on the large Google Maps display in the shop. Other activities include The Art of DIY, and a Makey Makey Lab which helps consumers through various creative and technical projects.

Google Guides are the in-store assistants that help customers through the selection of products and can walk users through products and features.