According to Reuters, this move comes right before Google launched its first physical stores in India. For now, Indian consumers can shop online on the Google Store.
In addition, Google is also selling its products in India through authorized retailers and through Walmart-backed e-commerce platform Flipkart.
Apple, Google's biggest rival in the high-end smartphone segment, has sold phones directly to Indian users and operated its own retail stores in major cities such as Mumbai and New Delhi. In the future, the iPhone maker is expected to open more stores in this South Asian country.
In addition to online sales, since the beginning of 2025, Google has decided to choose India as the first place outside the US to open retail stores. Google has decided to follow Apple's strategy to boost retail.
Apple has more than 500 stores worldwide and has earned billions of dollars over the past 2 decades.
In India, Pixel smartphones range in price from $360. Meanwhile, Apple's iPhone costs from 520 USD to 2,100 USD. Google has also started producing Pixel smartphones in India.
According to the results of market research firm Counterpoint, in 2024, Apple will dominate the high-end smartphone market (priced from 520 USD or more) in India, with 55% market share, while Pixel will only account for 2%.
India is one of the fast-growing markets with over 712 million smartphone users. That is the reason why Google has taken a series of strong steps to increase market share.
