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posted by martyb on Tuesday June 30 2020, @06:56PM   Printer-friendly
from the if-you-build-it dept.

Microsoft’s “new approach” to retail stores: Closing them forever:

Microsoft's retail stores, like many retailers throughout the nation, have been closed for months due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. If you were hoping to visit one again as restrictions in your state ease up, however, you're out of luck: the Microsoft Store is done for good.

The company announced the closure today, amusingly, as the Microsoft Store taking "a new approach to retail," by which it means "not actually operating retail stores." Although four locations—in London, New York City, Sydney, and Microsoft's Redmond, Washington, campus—will remain open, they will become "experience centers," where one can see, touch, and play with Microsoft products but not actually purchase any.


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  • (Score: 2) by ledow on Wednesday July 01 2020, @07:33AM

    by ledow (5567) on Wednesday July 01 2020, @07:33AM (#1014902) Homepage

    Pretty much still the model of UK electronics stores (Currys, Dixons, PC World) plus all the appliance stores (white goods, Comet, etc.) - - but one of those is dead now precisely because of that

    I stopped going to stores for those things about 10-15 years ago, maybe more. The final straw was similar to yours. Needed a fridge. Had moved house, had no fridge, needed fridge to put food in. Ok, we can survive a few days, but we need one pronto. A store will have one, right? We'll be able to just take it away, surely, but first we could measure it up for the gap it needs to go in, and see if it suits us, etc.

    Went to the store. Everything was overpriced. Simple search on my phone (I think we're talking 2G-era?), found same things for cheaper, delivered, tomorrow. That's when they started changing the model numbers to have a "Dixons" model of a fridge which was basically identical to one online, but it would stop you comparing purely by model number. I wasn't that fussed about the exact model, but it was clear from the photos and specs that it was identical in size, shape, etc.

    Got hassled by multiple sales assistants (which, presumably, the cost of was added to the price of the products). Measured up the one we liked. Grabbed a guy and asked. Not in stock. Delivery "up to" 28 days "if you'd just like to pay now, sir, to hold the stock". I asked "What do you have in stock, now, today, that we can take away or have delivered today/tomorrow?". Ten minutes of sales-talk and the answer was literally nothing. The hugest store on the biggest retail park in the area, and I can't buy a product in any reasonable timescale. Found the same online, ordered it on the drive home (which I remember being a novelty at that time). It arrived (I think it was 2 days later, but it said that, and we saved even more money on that one than the same thing available tomorrow).

    It was at that point that you realise they aren't really interested in fulfilling your need (to buy a product and have it delivered/fitted, especially when you *don't have one* and desperately need one). They cared only about money which - ironically - ends up costing them custom and customers.

    Did the same several times since, the only exception was a Euronics centre when we needed a particular type of washing machine. We had a very narrow-in-depth gap for it because of pipework and needed to see it up close to make sure it would fit where we needed it, and around the pipework. We visited the store and got some old guy running an entire shop on his own and we soon figured out why - he knew every available model, their specs and prices, off the top of his head. He was a walking catalogue and would open a brochure to the exact page without looking. We described the gap. He knew exactly what ones would fit. But he also knew that he could get a better one, cheaper, that would also fit, if he spoke to his friend at another store. We trusted him, because he was trying to help us, clearly.

    And we did buy it. Because it was available the next day. And the guy was spot-on. Cheaper, better, and fit exactly round the pipework it needed to.

    I haven't seen service like that since, and have moved far away from that store or I'd go back there (but only if he was still there).

    If your shop isn't about fulfilling your customers needs, they won't come back. And you *need* to sell them a fridge, the same way that they *need* to be able to buy one. It's quite a simple equation. And in the Internet era, and especially now, I hope we see all those "no stock, no service, ten sales assistants, up-sell" type shops die.

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