 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | |
| Founded | October 22, 2009; 16 years ago (2009-10-22) |
| Defunct | June 26, 2020 (2020-06-26) |
| Fate | Closed by parent |
Number of locations |
|
Key people | |
| Products |
|
| Parent | Microsoft |
| Website | www |
Microsoft Store was a chain ofretail stores and is anonline shopping site, owned and operated byMicrosoft and dealing in computers, computer software, and consumer electronics.
The Microsoft Store offered Signature PCs andtablets like theMicrosoft Surface, and offerings from third parties such asAcer,Dell,HP,Lenovo, andVAIO without demos nor trialware (pre-installed free trials of certain third-party software that expire after a limited time). It also offeredWindows (most retail versions),Microsoft Office, andXbox One game consoles, games, and services including on-site Xbox diagnostics. The Answers Desk helped to answer questions related to Office, Windows, 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 theWindows 7 launch, inScottsdale, Arizona, andMission Viejo, California.[2] Additional stores opened in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. At the 2011Professional Developers Conference, Microsoft announced that they intended 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 inAsia-Pacific and second flagship store[5]) opened in Sydney, Australia, on November 12, 2015.[6] In September 2017, the company announced a store onRegent Street in London, England.[7]
On June 26, 2020, Microsoft announced that it would close all of its physical stores onceCOVID-19 pandemic restrictions are lifted, and transition to a digital-only model. Four stores in New York City, Sydney, London, and Redmond would be renovated intoMicrosoft Experience Centers.[8]
As of 2025, only New York City (Microsoft Experience Center) and Redmond (Microsoft Visitor Center) stores remain open. The London and Sydney stores were closed in 2025.
Microsoft's first retail store was located in theMetreon inSan Francisco. It was owned and operated by Sony Retail Entertainment[9] and ran from 1999[10] to 2001.[11]
In 2009, Microsoft built a "Retail Experience Center" in theirRedmond, Washington, headquarters[12] and announced plans to build its own retail stores.[13] On October 22, 2009, the same day as the Windows 7 launch, Microsoft opened a retail store inScottsdale, Arizona. A week later, another opened inMission Viejo, California. Five additional stores were opened in 2010. A ninth store opened inAtlanta in May 2011, with two more openings planned inHouston andLos Angeles by the end of June.
The majority of Microsoft Stores were closed in March 2020 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[14] On June 26, 2020, Microsoft announced that it would permanently close all of its physical retail stores in favor of a digital marketplace. Four stores would be renovated into "experience centers": New York City, Sydney, London, and Redmond.[8]
In 2025, Microsoft closed its London store on January 31 and its Sydney store on May 10, leaving New York City and Redmond as the only remaining stores.
The Microsoft Store was similar to the popularApple Store concept, which has been largely successful.[15] The concept aimed to give a greater level of customer satisfaction both by only having sales staff as well as by employing "Technical Advisors" (similar to Apple's "Geniuses") to assist customers with technical questions and issues.[16] In addition, "Specialists" (or trainers) were employed to show customers how to get the most out of their software.Xbox One consoles were also available to entertain patrons.
There were Microsoft Store retail locations throughout the U.S., seven in Canada, one in Sydney, Australia, and one in London, England, which were converted to Experience Centers. Recently, Microsoft has opened Microsoft Company Stores in Redmond and at its Silicon Valley Campus that are open to the public.
In May 2013, Microsoft began to launchmall kiosk locations known asMicrosoft Specialty Stores, expanding upon the Surface-focusedpop-up stores established during the launch ofWindows 8. They featured a smaller product offering, with a particular focus on the Surface andWindows Phone product lines.
In June 2019, Microsoft closed all Specialty Store locations.[17]
On June 13, 2013, Microsoft announced a partnership with theBest Buy chain to replace their Best Buy's PC departments withThe Windows Store (unrelated to theWindows Store software distribution platform) at 600 locations in the United States and Canada, by September 2013. Thestore-within-a-store showcases Windows devices, Microsoft hardware and software products (including the Office, Surface, and Xbox lines). Departments for other manufacturers (such asApple,Google, andSamsung) 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 asWindows Phone devices.[18]
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