Google launches own store in India, makes things harder for Samsung

Samsung has been selling its products in India directly for many years now (offline and online). One of its two main rivals in the country’s high-end smartphone market, Apple, initiated direct-to-consumer service in 2020. Now, Samsung's other main competitor, Google, has also started selling products in the Indian market directly.

On Thursday, Google started selling products in India through its official website. At the moment, the Google Store for India is offering smartphones, smartwatches, earbuds, and accessories, including the Pixel 9 series, Pixel Watch 3, Pixel Buds Pro 2, cases for its phones, bands for its watches, power adapters, and charging cables.

When Google was selling products in the Indian market indirectly, it didn’t offer many of the products mentioned above, including cases and charging cables. Now that the brand is offering these things, more people will be inclined to purchase its products, as many prefer getting devices for which first-party accessories are available. Plus, the company’s expanded portfolio of products will bring in more customers.  

Google is also offering huge exchange benefits. For instance, it is providing an INR 50,000 exchange value for the Pixel 8, which is available for INR 44,999 on Flipkart. Basically, the brand is buying a used device for a higher price than the new unit of that model. If one buys the Pixel 8 for INR 44,999 from Flipkart and then exchanges it on the Google Store at INR 50,000 for another phone, they will get an INR 6,000 benefit.

As Google is offering more products and amazing discounts, it can impact Samsung’s sales. Many people who were going for the Galaxy S and Galaxy Z series because the Pixel series and the Pixel Fold series, and their accessories, were not available directly, may turn towards Google. That being said, Google doesn't have an offline presence in India. With that, it may not hamper Samsung's sales significantly.