Microsoft is permanently closing all of its retail stores | But Why
Microsoft said on Friday it will permanently close all of its 83 store locations and will instead focus on its e-commerce business, where customers can visit for support, sales, training and more. The decision comes after Microsoft temporarily closed stores in March due to the spread of the coronavirus. Microsoft said the thousands of workers from these stores have already transitioned to new roles where they're providing sales, training, and support to customers from Microsoft corporate facilities or remotely. Microsoft added that the company has seen significant growth in its digital storefronts, including Microsoft.com and stores on Xbox and Windows, and that it will continue to invest in digital innovation across software and hardware. Total Retail's Take: Microsoft opened its first brick-and-mortar store in 2009, where people could go to try the company's software and hardware. This decision was made after Apple, its main competitor, was enjoying great success and popularity with its modern, clean retail outlets. Over the past decade, Microsoft expanded its retail presence in an effort to create a shopping experience similar to Apple’s. However, while the retail outlets let users try its Surface models and test out Xbox games, they often suffered from a lower level of interest and foot traffic than nearby Apple stores. Therefore, it's not a surprise that Microsoft isn't reopening post-pandemic. Kudos to Microsoft for seamlessly transitioning its retail workers to other positions within the organization. Unlike other retailers that have had to furlough or lay off in-store workers, Microsoft has been able to transition them all to new roles, in which they're providing sales, training and support to customers from Microsoft corporate facilities or remotely. How was it able to do that? According to Microsoft Corporate Vice President David Porter, the company "deliberately built teams with unique backgrounds and skills that could serve customers from anywhere. The evolution of our workforce ensured we could continue to serve customers of all sizes when they needed us most, working remotely these last months."
Microsoft is closing all of its retail stores for good Brian Heater @bheater / 5 days As other retailers begin the slow, cautious move to reopen, Microsoft has announced that it will be permanently shutting down the vast majority of its retail stores. There are some exceptions, including flagships in urban hubs including London, New York City, Sydney and its own campus in Redmond, Washington, but the remainder of the locations are going away. Microsoft has since written to clarify that those handful of locations that will remain will be turned into “Microsoft Experience Centers,” rather than the standard stores — basically a place to interact with products and take courses, without the actual purchasing aspect. In a post optimistically titled, “Microsoft Store announces new approach to retail,” the company spells out what amounts to a profound shift in an approach to retail that had previously found the company looking to compete with Apple at its own brick and mortar game. It notes the planned temporary shutdown of locations due to COVID-19, but while the pandemic no doubt had an impact on that sector, this was likely a long time coming. In June of last year, it closed its smaller Specialty Stores and kiosks in the U.S. “Our sales have grown online as our product portfolio has evolved to largely digital offerings, and our talented team has proven success serving customers beyond any physical location,” Corporate VP David Porter says in the post. Some goodish news in all of this. Microsoft has committed to transitioning retail employees to new sales and other roles, as the company shifts resources back into online commerce. “The company’s retail team members will continue to serve customers from Microsoft corporate facilities and remotely providing sales, training, and support,” it writes. “Microsoft will continue to invest in its digital storefronts on Microsoft.com, and stores in Xbox and Windows, reaching more than 1.2 billion people every month in 190 markets.”
Microsoft has announced that it will be permanently closing all of its retail stores, while four physical locations in London, NYC, Sydney, and Redmond will be re-imagined as Microsoft Experience Centers. Microsoft announced the news and said that "the company’s retail team members will continue to serve customers from Microsoft corporate facilities and remotely providing sales, training, and support."Microsoft has told The Verge that no layoffs will result from today's decision. Microsoft closed its retail stores in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and had yet to re-open them.Since then, their focus has obviously shifted to its digital storefronts on Microsoft.com and the stores on both Xbox and Windows PC, which "reach more than 1.2 billion people every month in 190 markets."“We deliberately built teams with unique backgrounds and skills that could serve customers from anywhere. The evolution of our workforce ensured we could continue to serve customers of all sizes when they needed us most, working remotely these last months,” Microsoft Corporate Vice Pesident David Porter said in a statement. “Speaking over 120 languages, their diversity reflects the many communities we serve. Our commitment to growing and developing careers from this talent pool is stronger than ever.”In April, Microsoft explained its plan to take care of its employees in this changed world we are living in, saying how many employees had already shifted to remote work and had how it had continued to "provide regular pay for team members through the pandemic."
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