Microsoft Store

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For Microsoft Store on Windows and Xbox One, see Microsoft Store (digital).
Microsoft Store
Subsidiary
Industry <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Founded October 22, 2009; 15 years ago (2009-10-22)
Number of locations
World: 116 stores in 4 countries and 1 territory[1]
(107 US/10 elsewhere)
  • United States: 106
  • Canada: 8
  • Australia: 1
  • United Kingdom: 1
  • Puerto Rico: 1
Key people
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Products <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Parent Microsoft
Website www.microsoftstore.com
A Microsoft Store bearing the 2009–2012 logo
Microsoft Store in Yorkdale Toronto, the first store outside the U.S.
File:Microsoft Store in Sydney 2017.jpg
Microsoft Store in Sydney

Microsoft Store is a chain of retail stores and an online shopping site, owned and operated by Microsoft and dealing in computers, computer software, and consumer electronics.

The Microsoft Store offers Signature PCs and tablets like the Microsoft Surface, and offerings from third parties such as Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and VAIO without demos nor trialware (pre-installed free trials of certain third-party software that expire after a limited time). It also offers 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 Office, Windows, and other Microsoft products;the stores also offer 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.[2] Additional stores have since opened in California, Colorado, Florida, 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.[3]

The first store outside the U.S. (and the first of eight stores in Canada) opened in Toronto on November 16, 2012,[4] while the first store outside North America (and first store in Asia-Pacific and second flagship store[5]) opened in Sydney, Australia on November 12, 2015.[6] In September 2017, the company announced a store on Regent Street in London, England.[7]

History

Microsoft's first retail store was located in the Metreon, in San Francisco. It was owned and operated by Sony Retail Entertainment[8] and ran from 1999[9] to 2001.[10]

In 2009, Microsoft built a "Retail Experience Center" in their Redmond, Washington headquarters[11] and announced plans to build its own retail stores.[12] 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 is similar to the popular Apple Store concept, which has been largely successful.[13] The concept aims to give a greater level of customer satisfaction both by only having sales staff as well as by 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

File:Microsoft Store locations in the US.svg
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 in London, England. There was formerly a store in Helsinki, Finland.[14]

Other formats

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.

In June 2019, Microsoft closed all Specialty Store locations. [15]

Best Buy Windows Stores

On June 13, 2013, Microsoft announced a partnership with the Best Buy chain to replace their Best Buy's PC departments with The Windows Store (unrelated to the Windows Store software distribution platform) at 600 locations in the United States and Canada, by September 2013. The store-within-a-store showcases Windows devices, Microsoft hardware and software products (including the Office, Surface, and Xbox lines). Departments for other manufacturers (such as Apple, Google, and Samsung) 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]

See also

References

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External links

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  • Microsoft Store Locations
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