The Google Store serves as a place to learn about Made by Google and how to buy products directly. Made by Google is now announcing the acquisition of Fitbit with a prominent store link.
Shortly after the announcement of the closing of the acquisition this morning, all pages of the Google Store were updated with a dark teal banner. It only appears if you scroll to the top of the page.
Fitbit, welcome to the Google family. Explore fitbit.com
This is a prominent statement for anyone visiting the store. This link takes users to the Fitbit product home page that lists everything from smartwatches and fitness trackers to smart scales. Accessories such as additional bands and replacement chargers and subscription services also appear here. Finally, Fitbit has a “equipment” section to buy jackets and other branded clothing.
Meanwhile, below the full-screen banners on the Google Store homepage announcing the Pixel 5 / 4a 5G, Nest Audio and Chromecast with Google TV, as well as the “all products” carousel, there is another welcome message. This includes the flagship Fitbit Sense with a second link to “Explore”.
In addition to Twitter and Facebook, the Store will be the most notable way for Google to disclose to the public that it now owns Fitbit.
It remains to be seen whether the Google Store will start selling Fitbit products, as the recently acquired company has run a retail website for a long time. It is possible that Google initially only adds and sells Fitbit products in a similar way to third party accessories. (Another question is whether the help documentation and the Fitbit community will be transferred to Google Support.) In that case, that would mark the return of smartwatches to the site following LG Style and Sport.
A historic precedent is the acquisition of Nest. Nest.com to discover and buy products closed in June 2019, after the unified nickname “Google Nest” was announced a month earlier. Fitbit can be shipped in a similar way over the long term to better align it with the Made by Google brand.
FTC: We use affiliate links for cars that generate revenue. More.
Check out 9to5Google on YouTube for more news: