Citing “an extremely reliable source,” 9To5Google reports that the tech giant will open retail stores in the US in time for the next holiday season.

The article states that the move is intended to offer customers “hands-on experience” with products to encourage them to buy, citing Google Glass as a particularly ambitious new device that many consumers wouldn’t be comfortable purchasing without trying first. The augmented reality glasses will be a relatively new and untested field of consumer electronics (though wearable technology as a whole could be a growing field as evidenced by the buzz over Apple smartwatch rumors).

But Google isn’t just challenged by unique devices; their own cloud-based Chrome operating system and Chromebook line of laptops have received some praise, but still offer a computing experience different from what many are used to.

To combat this unfamiliarity, Google has already opened some Chrome stores-within-a-store in select Best Buys, where Google-trained reps can answer questions. But the new stand-alone stores would reportedly be much more far reaching.

What do you think? Would you shop at a Google store?

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