Microsoft Store (retail)

Microsoft's first 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, Washington, 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. The majority of Microsoft Stores were closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 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. 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. ==Shopping experience==

The Microsoft Store was similar to the popular Apple Store concept, which has been largely successful. 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. 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. ==Retail locations==

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. == 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 featured a smaller product offering, with a particular focus on the Surface and Windows Phone product lines. In June 2019, Microsoft closed all Specialty Store locations. 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. == See also ==