Microsoft Store
Encyclopedia
The Microsoft Store consists of fourteen retail stores and an online shopping site, and is owned and operated by Microsoft
, dealing in computers, computer software and consumer electronics. The stores aim to "improve the PC and Microsoft retail purchase experience for consumers worldwide and help consumers make more informed decisions about their PC and software purchases."
The Microsoft Store offers Signature PCs from third parties such as HP
, Acer, Dell
, Lenovo, and Sony
without demos or 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
, mobile devices running the Windows Phone 7
OS
, Zune
devices and services, Xbox 360
consoles, games and services including on-site Xbox diagnostics. The Answers Desk helps to answer questions related to Windows, Office, 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
. Additional stores have since opened in California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Texas and Washington. At the 2011 PDC, Microsoft announced that they intend to open 75 new stores in the next three years.
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, WA 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 concept aims to give a greater level of customer satisfaction by not only having sales staff but also employing "Technical Advisors" (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.
Microsoft Surface
s and Xbox 360
s are also available to entertain patrons.
, Zune
software, Adobe Reader & Flash
, Microsoft Security Essentials, and Silverlight. Besides the online storefront, items from the store can be ordered by phone. The website has 13 international variations for Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States. The stores in Europe are able to accept orders from, and ship to other European countries as well.
The Microsoft Store offers immediate software download options of some Microsoft software products in most regions.
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, dealing in computers, computer software and consumer electronics. The stores aim to "improve the PC and Microsoft retail purchase experience for consumers worldwide and help consumers make more informed decisions about their PC and software purchases."
The Microsoft Store offers Signature PCs from third parties such as HP
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
, Acer, Dell
Dell
Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
, Lenovo, and Sony
VAIO
VAIO is a sub-brand used for many of Sony's computer products. Originally an acronym of Video Audio Integrated Operation, this was amended to Visual Audio Intelligent Organizer in 2008 to celebrate the brand's 10th anniversary...
without demos or trialware (pre-installed free trials of certain third-party software that expire after a limited time). It also offers Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
(most retail versions), Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office is a non-free commercial office suite of inter-related desktop applications, servers and services for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, introduced by Microsoft in August 1, 1989. Initially a marketing term for a bundled set of applications, the first version of...
, mobile devices running the Windows Phone 7
Windows Phone 7
Windows Phone is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft, and is the successor to its Windows Mobile platform, although incompatible with it. Unlike its predecessor, it is primarily aimed at the consumer market rather than the enterprise market...
OS
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
, Zune
Zune
Zune is a digital media brand owned by Microsoft which includes a line of portable media players, a digital media player software for Windows machines, a music subscription service known as a 'Zune Music Pass', music and video streaming for the Xbox 360 via the Zune Software, music, TV and movie...
devices and services, Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
consoles, games and services including on-site Xbox diagnostics. The Answers Desk helps to answer questions related to Windows, Office, 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
Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...
and Mission Viejo, California
Mission Viejo, California
Mission Viejo is a city located in southern Orange County, California, U.S. in the Saddleback Valley. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master-planned communities ever built under a single project in the United States, and is rivaled only by Highlands Ranch, Colorado, in its size...
. Additional stores have since opened in California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Texas and Washington. At the 2011 PDC, Microsoft announced that they intend to open 75 new stores in the next three years.
History
Microsoft's first experience with a retail store was called microsoftSF, which was located in the MetreonMetreon
The Metreon is a shopping center located in downtown San Francisco at the corner of 4th Street and Mission Street. It is a four-story 350,000 square foot building built over the corner of the underground Moscone Center convention center...
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, WA 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.
Shopping experience
The Microsoft Store is similar to the popular Apple Store concept, which has been largely successful.The concept aims to give a greater level of customer satisfaction by not only having sales staff but also employing "Technical Advisors" (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.
Microsoft Surface
Microsoft Surface
Microsoft Surface is a multi-touch product from Microsoft which is developed as a software and hardware combination technology that allows a user, or multiple users, to manipulate digital content by the use of gesture recognition. This could involve the motion of hands or physical objects. It was...
s and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
s are also available to entertain patrons.
Store locations
| City | State | Mall | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scottsdale |  Arizona |
Scottsdale Fashion Square Scottsdale Fashion Square Scottsdale Fashion Square is the largest shopping mall in Arizona and the American Southwest, with approximately 2 million square feet of retail space, and is among the top 30 largest malls in the country. It is one of the top 10 most profitable malls in the country with over $740 sales per square... |
October 22, 2009 |
| Mission Viejo |  California |
The Shops at Mission Viejo The Shops at Mission Viejo The Shops at Mission Viejo is an upscale shopping mall located in Mission Viejo, California. It is the southernmost mall in Orange County and features major stores including Nordstrom, Macy*s, Tommy Bahama, Apple Store, Williams-Sonoma, and Coach. Recent additions to the mall include Zara,... |
October 29, 2009 |
| Lone Tree |  Colorado |
Park Meadows Mall | June 10, 2010 |
| San Diego | California |
Fashion Valley Mall Fashion Valley Mall Fashion Valley Mall is an upscale, open-air shopping mall in Mission Valley in San Diego, California. The shopping center has over 1.7 million square feet of leasable floor area, making it the largest mall in San Diego and one of the largest in California. It is owned and managed by the Simon... |
June 24, 2010 |
| Oak Brook | Oakbrook Center Oakbrook Center Oakbrook Center is an upscale super-regional shopping center located near Interstate 88 in Oak Brook, Illinois. It was originally opened in 1962 and has become the largest open-air center in the contiguous United States with over 160 stores and restaurants... |
November 4, 2010 | |
| Bloomington |  Minnesota |
Mall of America Mall of America The Mall of America, also called MOA and the Megamall, is a shopping mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities, in the United States. It is located southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway 77, north of the Minnesota River and is across the... |
November 6, 2010 |
| Bellevue | Bellevue Square Bellevue Square Bellevue Square is a shopping center in Bellevue, eight miles east of Seattle. The mall has 180 retail stores, including anchors JCPenney, Macy's, and Nordstrom, specialty stores like LEGO, Tiffany and Co. the Apple Store, Armani Exchange and Williams-Sonoma, Lacoste, and restaurants like P.F.... |
November 18, 2010 | |
| Costa Mesa | California |
South Coast Plaza South Coast Plaza South Coast Plaza is an upscale-luxury shopping center in Costa Mesa, California, USA, in Orange County. The largest mall in California, its sales of over 1.5 billion are highest in the United States... |
March 24, 2011 |
| Atlanta | Lenox Square Lenox Square Lenox Square is an upscale enclosed super regional shopping mall located in the Buckhead District of Atlanta, Georgia. Lenox Square comprises more than of retail space, with 250 stores on four levels, including a large food court. The mall is home to three anchor stores: Macy's, Bloomingdale's,... |
May 27, 2011 | |
| Houston |  Republic of Texas |
The Galleria | June 23, 2011 |
| Los Angeles | California |
Westfield Century City Westfield Century City Westfield Century City, formerly Century City Shopping Center & Marketplace, is a shopping mall in the Century City area of Los Angeles, California. It is owned by Westfield Group. Its anchor stores are Bloomingdale's and Macy's... |
June 30, 2011 |
| Seattle |  Washington |
University Village | October 20, 2011 |
| Santa Clara | California |
Westfield Valley Fair Westfield Valley Fair Westfield Valley Fair, formerly known as Valley Fair and Westfield Shoppingtown Valley Fair is an upscale in-door shopping mall owned by the Westfield Group, located at the corner of Winchester and Stevens Creek Boulevards, straddling the border of San Jose and Santa Clara, California, United... |
November 10, 2011 |
| McLean |  Virginia |
Tysons Corner Center Tysons Corner Center Tysons Corner Center, located in the Tysons Corner unincorporated area in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States , opened to the public in 1968, becoming one of the first fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping centers in the Washington Metropolitan Area... |
November 17, 2011 |
Microsoft Store Online
Microsoft Store is the online store of Microsoft and is the successor of Windows Marketplace, also owned and operated by the company. The online store sells Microsoft software and hardware, as well as Microsoft Signature PCs and select third-party software. Microsoft Signature PCs are computers from various manufacturers pre-loaded with Windows Live EssentialsWindows Live Essentials
Windows Live Essentials is a suite of freeware applications by Microsoft that aims to offer integrated and bundled e-mail, instant messaging, photo-sharing, blog publishing, security services and other Windows Live entities...
, Zune
Zune
Zune is a digital media brand owned by Microsoft which includes a line of portable media players, a digital media player software for Windows machines, a music subscription service known as a 'Zune Music Pass', music and video streaming for the Xbox 360 via the Zune Software, music, TV and movie...
software, Adobe Reader & Flash
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
, Microsoft Security Essentials, and Silverlight. Besides the online storefront, items from the store can be ordered by phone. The website has 13 international variations for Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States. The stores in Europe are able to accept orders from, and ship to other European countries as well.
The Microsoft Store offers immediate software download options of some Microsoft software products in most regions.