Microsoft Continues Retail Growth by Opening More Specialty Stores

thats interesting

I wonder how many of these stores are just kiosks. Nordstrom in the Chicago Magnificent Mile has a Microsoft kiosk in the lobby. Granted, it's a large one as far as kiosk goes, but it's still nothing like Apple's store. I think they need to buy a storefront and expand.

Their store in Bellevue Square mall, in WA, is pretty large. Needlessly so in fact; I don’t think I’ve ever seen more than a dozen people in there that weren’t employees – and even that was around the time they launched Surface RT.

I’m just not sure why you’d shop there, unless you desperately needed a de-crapified Windows PC the same day and couldn’t handle it yourself. Their stuff is the same price or cheaper everywhere else. And for things like the new Office Suites, it’s not only up to 25% cheaper to buy it from, say, Amazon, but you still get it the same day – don’t even need to leave the house.

The Kinect demo station in the window always seems to be in use after about noon on a Saturday though; always seems to be a “trendy” looking couple with exactly two children (one boy, one girl naturally) too … yet somehow there’s never anyone else waiting to play.

Maybe it is stupendously busy whenever I’m not walking past.

The theory of the store was to show off the technology...The problem is they would have to advance technology to have something interesting...Basically the theory is to show off what PC's can do that average consumers did not know they could do...The problem is smart consumers normally just read or watch a video and get the point and those who are clueless will likely remain clueless.

It would work if they made devices with enough buzz, but those devices would still do well without the stores.

Ponder said:

The theory of the store was to show off the technology...The problem is they would have to advance technology to have something interesting...Basically the theory is to show off what PC's can do that average consumers did not know they could do...The problem is smart consumers normally just read or watch a video and get the point and those who are clueless will likely remain clueless.

It would work if they made devices with enough buzz, but those devices would still do well without the stores.

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So what your saying is that they are wasting money.

RandemTox said:

Their store in Bellevue Square mall, in WA, is pretty large. Needlessly so in fact; I don’t think I’ve ever seen more than a dozen people in there that weren’t employees – and even that was around the time they launched Surface RT.

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Lol, come on don't lie to make a point. The Bellevue square store was absolutely PACKED around the time Surface launched. It always has good traffic whenever I pass by on the weekends.

captainyarr said:

Lol, come on don't lie to make a point. The Bellevue square store was absolutely PACKED around the time Surface launched. It always has good traffic whenever I pass by on the weekends.

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Oh yeah? Wait til Monday at around 11am when everyone's at school and work! It's empty I tell you!

Yep, the Bellevue store gets pretty busy, TBH.

I'm not lying; I've never seen the place even remotely busy.

And I'm perfectly willing to believe it's busy at other times, I said so in my original response, but I have never been in or past the place when there weren't more employees present than potential customers.