Over the past few years, the Google Hardware brand has established itself in the marketplace. As business ambitions grew, we embarked on a strategic initiative to progress the new Google Store (store.google.com) into a best-in-class retail experience.

Our intention was simple: put the user at the forefront by delivering education through emotion and streamlining design systems. This approach enabled us to establish a framework that can support the business as it scales globally.

Google’s hardware mission is to “make radically better things.” For Google Store, creating a radically better ecommerce experience that brings the best of Google to users was the clear path.

The eCommerce flagship acts as a powerful brand platform built to differentiate and drive commerce in ways that are distinctively Google.

Make it innovative

We integrated the internet’s first functional demo of the Google Assistant, the key differentiator across Google’s hardware offering.

Make it clever

Unexpected moments surprise and delight the user throughout the experience. For example, users can literally play with modules like the 360 color picker using the accelerometer of their mobile device.

Make it helpful

We elevated product education through contextual storytelling and behavior-based experience patterns to help guide users the products best suited for them.

Make it simple

We led users through an experience that does not compromise usability across form factors.

To bring the best of Google to our users, we led a research initiative to understand behaviors. Customer segmentation, analytic data, experimentation, and user feedback informed our approach.

Data revealed that customers want to “touch and try” hardware products pre-purchase, yet traditional eCommerce does not facilitate this. So, we centered our strategy around replicating the physical shopping experience, online. Users can interact with products and features through interactive modules that feel tactical, experiential, and undeniably “Googley.” Data showed that engagement and conversion improve when users can interact with features in delightful and educational ways.

Our research also revealed that consumers not only want the ability to explore on their terms, but also want to be guided down a path to discovery, as quickly as possible. Through intuitive navigation and intent-based architecture, the new store optimizes the path to purchase with various user journeys in mind.

Over the course of eight months, the store was reimagined to be designed for everyone, on any device, from anywhere in the world. The experience is translated into 36 languages across 31 countries, and campaigns and commerce are now housed together, telling a unified brand story that's visualized through a common design language.

The site uses scrolling behaviors to encourage discovery. Rich content activates product features and interactivity drives engagement to connect with users emotionally. This deepens desire and improves conversion at moments of impulse. Shopability has been enhanced through new functionality including product comparison, bundling, and streamlined navigation.

To meet the demands of the business, the sites built through an intuitive library of components that act as modular elements to quickly craft new pages and improve operational efficiency across the globe. This approach has enabled marketing teams to capitalize on cultural moments such as Pixel’s collaboration with Childish Gambino.

With the goal of driving commerce while building the brand, the new Google Store has improved metrics across the board. Conversions, the primary KPI, has increased 55% and the store has seen a 54% lift in new customers.

From a brand perspective, CRM subscribers have doubled and users are spending approximately 20% more time on the site. Lastly, bounce rates have been reduced by 26% while driving a 28% increase in SEO revenue.