MICROSOFT to permanently close all of its retail stores
Microsoft is giving up on physical retail and plans to permanently close all Microsoft Store locations in the United States and around the world.
World: 116 stores in 4 countries and 1 territory (107 US/10 overseas)
Microsoft says Microsoft.com and the Xbox and Windows storefronts reach “up to 1.2 billion monthly customers in 190 markets.”
The big decision partially explains why Microsoft had yet to reopen a single store after they were all closed in light of the pandemic.
Since many Microsoft stores are in shopping centers and malls, the continued closure hasn’t stood out as unusual. In US states that are taking a cautious approach to restoring retail operations — to avoid a resurgence of the novel coronavirus — most malls remain closed. There have already been spikes of COVID-19 cases in regions with more relaxed guidelines, which has led Apple to re-close some stores where it had only recently welcomed customers back in.
The Microsoft Store debuted in 2009 and closely adhered to Apple’s successful retail playbook.
