Groton - A new Comcast Xfinity store will be opening in the Groton Square Shopping Center Dec. 1, while company service centers here and in Norwich are facing a shutdown around the same time.

The 4,500-square-foot Xfinity service showroom, offering an upscale experience similar to an Apple store, will allow customers to try out Comcast products in a relaxed, home-like environment.

It will be the sixth Xfinity store in Connecticut.

"Everything's really like top of the line," said Comcast spokeswoman Nicole Boudreau in a phone interview. "We were really going for an intimate environment."

Boudreau confirmed that Comcast service centers at 1 Hilltop Road in Norwich and 401 Gold Star Highway here will be shut down Nov. 29.

But she pointed out that more and more customers had been gravitating toward self-installations, finding it more convenient, and that Comcast just last month announced a partnership with UPS to allow drop-off of equipment at its many store locations throughout the state without the need for boxing or packaging.

"Customers can walk into any The UPS Store location, drop off their equipment and take their receipt," said Tom Karinshak, senior vice president of customer service for Comcast Cable, in a release. "And this is all free for our customers."

The new Xfinity store at 220 Route 12, employing seven, will be Comcast's central showroom for the region. Boudreau said she knew of no immediate plans to open another store in Norwich.

The new store is state-of-the art, she said, a place where customers can "touch and see our products and services."

It will include a kiosk for bill paying and sales consultants who can walk customers through various options, such as home security, live streaming channels and mobile apps.

"We've been seeing more and more of our customers going online and using mobile apps to interact with us, so we've also been working to make our self-service, self-install and account management options even more convenient for them," Boudreau said in a statement.

l.howard@theday.com

Twitter: @KingstonLeeHow