Microsoft builds pretend retail store, wants to play house later

Microsoft's new Retail Experience Center is a new showcase of Microsoft's products and solutions for retailers -- including back-end stuff and point of sale. It's all pretty boring and corporate, but it could also be construed as a look at what a Microsoft take on an "Apple Store-style" experience might be. Result? It kinda looks like Circuit City plus a few Surface displays, Microsoft Tags and magical screen-equipped shopping carts (pictured above). Oh, and before you gather up your Zune pals for a road trip: the Experience Center is real, but the customers are fake -- the store isn't open to the public. Video is after the break.

[Via istartedsomething]

Microsoft builds pretend retail store

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 14th 2009 5:06PM]

This looks like a merger of best buy and some flea market.
It will make more profit if it sold porn.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 14th 2009 5:25PM]

@Sisyphus: No the reason why Big Box sucks is that folks don't know what they are talking about. Half the time you have someone that is a guru of car stereos 'covering' in the computer department and they can't really answer your questions.

this is why Microsoft announced their new 'guru' program. the idea was to have salespeople in those stores that were certified as Windows experts that could show buyers how wonderful Vista really is (and presumably W7 when it arrives).

what makes an Apple Retail Store work is that
1. it's focused on one thing. Apple computers and things that work with Apple computers
2. sales people that have a clue. If someone doesn't know, someone else there does
3. they support their products. You can get tech support, you can get classes etc. And the prices are often quite reasonable. try going into a big box and get even 15 seconds of free tech help with your computer. not likely. but I got 30 minutes free when my laptop went down. Try getting 52 weeks of classes on your computer for $100 at the local college. Not likely to happen.

Now if Microsoft were to be that focused perhaps they could pull something like this off. but I don't really see it happening since they have gotten so huge. the downside to a major market share.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 15th 2009 8:11AM]

I don't mind a windows 'store'. I never went to the mac section when going to the computer store. But I will never ever step in it if they have that stupid annoying "I'm a PC" slogan.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 14th 2009 11:35PM]

Hey did you guys know that the Microsoft Store has already launched Down Under here in Australia?

Check it out, it's pretty bad: http://www.sarcastic.com.au/microsoft-store-launch