Microsoft Store (retail)



Microsoft Store was a chain of retail stores, owned and operated by Microsoft and dealing in computers, computer software and consumer electronics.

The Microsoft Store offered Signature PCs and tablets like the Microsoft Surface and from third parties such as HP, Acer, Dell, Lenovo, and VAIO without demos or trialware (pre-installed free trials of certain third-party software that expire after a limited time). It also offered Windows (most retail versions), Microsoft Office and Xbox One game consoles, games and services including on-site Xbox diagnostics. The Answers Desk helps to answer questions related to Windows, Office, and other Microsoft products. The stores also offered class sessions as well as individual appointments.

The first two Microsoft Stores opened within a week of the Windows 7 launch, in Scottsdale, Arizona and Mission Viejo, California. Additional stores have since opened in California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas and Washington. At the 2011 Professional Developers Conference, Microsoft announced that they intend to open 75 new stores in the next three years.

The first store outside the U.S. (and the first of eight stores in Canada) opened in Toronto on November 16, 2012, while the first store outside North America (and first store in Asia-Pacific and second flagship store) opened in Sydney, Australia on November 12, 2015. In September 2017, the company announced a store on Regent Street in London, United Kingdom.

On June 26, 2020, Microsoft announced that it would close all of its stores and transition to a digital-only model. Four stores in New York City, Sydney, London, and Redmond would be renovated into "experience centers".

History
Microsoft's first experience with a retail store was located in the Metreon in San Francisco. It was owned and operated by Sony Retail Entertainment, and ran from 1999 to 2001.

In 2009, Microsoft built a "Retail Experience Center" in their Redmond, WA headquarters and announced plans to build its own retail stores. On October 22, 2009, the same day as the Windows 7 launch, Microsoft opened a retail store in Scottsdale, Arizona. A week later, another opened in Mission Viejo, California. Five additional stores were opened in 2010. A ninth store opened in Atlanta in May 2011, with two more openings planned in Houston and Los Angeles by the end of June.

Shopping experience
The Microsoft Store was similar to the popular Apple Store concept, which has been largely successful. The concept aims to give a greater level of customer satisfaction by not only having sales staff but also employing "Technical Advisers" (similar to Apple's "Geniuses") to assist customers with technical questions and issues. In addition "Specialists" (or trainers) are employed to show customers how to get the most out of their software. Xbox One consoles are also available to entertain patrons.

Retail locations
Map of Microsoft Store locations in the United States

There are Microsoft Store retail locations throughout the US, seven in Canada, one in Sydney, Australia and one due to open in London, United Kingdom in 2019. There was formerly a store in Helsinki, Finland.

Microsoft Specialty Stores
In May 2013, Microsoft began to launch mall kiosk locations known as Microsoft Specialty Stores, expanding upon the Surface-focused pop-up stores established during the launch of Windows 8. They have a smaller product offering, with a particular focus on Surface and Windows Phone product lines.

Best Buy Windows Stores
On June 13, 2013, Microsoft announced a partnership with the Best Buy chain to replace their existing PC departments with The Windows Store (unrelated to the software distribution platform) at 600 locations in the United States and Canada by September 2013. The store-within-a-store showcases Windows devices and Microsoft hardware and software products (including the Surface, Office, and Xbox lines). Departments for other manufacturers (such as Apple, Samsung and Google) remain separate from the Windows Store sections. Best Buy also pledged to add 1,200 Microsoft-trained sales associates to its stores, and to stock more accessories for Microsoft-related products, such as Windows Phone devices.[16]

Closure
After taking a pre-tax loss of $450 million during the COVID-19 pandemic, Microsoft announced on June 26, 2020 that it would shutter all but four of its retail stores permanently. The remaining flagship stores in London; New York City; Sydney, Australia and Redmond, Washington would be converted into "experience centers". Sales would be redirected to Microsoft's online store and employees would be offered other positions within the company.