India is emerging as a potential location for Google's first real retail stores outside of the US.
The digital behemoth is currently negotiating shop locations in the nation's largest cities.

Google has pledged to invest $10 billion in India, one of its major growth markets.

At the moment, it only has five physical locations in the US where it sells its goods, which include earphones, watches, and Pixel phones.

By promoting its own products, it hopes to emulate a retail strategy that has helped Apple Inc. make billions of dollars over the past 20 years. Apple has more than 500 locations across the globe.

Though the exact time frame may vary, the stores are expected to measure approximately 15,000 square feet and will open in at least another six months. Mumbai and New Delhi are the leaders, but Bangalore, the south Indian IT center, was also taken into consideration. Google will target the luxury market in an effort to compete with Apple. More stories will be added if the first ones do well.

Currently, Google and Apple use authorized shops to sell their products in India. However, Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, traveled to India in 2023 to launch the company's first stores in Mumbai and New Delhi. In India, high-end Pixel phones range in price from roughly $370 to $2,000. The price range of Apple's iPhones is from $520 to $2,130. Additionally, Google has begun producing Pixel devices in India.

Research firm Counterpoint estimates that in 2024, Apple Inc. held an approximately 55 percent market share in the local market for high-end phones costing more than $520, while Pixel only had a two percent share. At now, there are over 712 million smartphone users in the rapidly growing Indian tech market.

Google has a solid plan to open the stores, and it will happen shortly. According to reports, before the stores can be opened, a few common regulatory and compliance procedures must be completed. The satellite city of Gurugram, where numerous multinational companies like Uber and Meta have headquarters and retailers like Uniqlo have stores, is one of the potential sites Google is looking at close to New Delhi.