Microsoft announced this week that it will close all its retail stores.
I used to assume its stores were just an attempt to copy Apple’s success in the space, but when I experienced one for myself in Miami last June, I changed my mind.
When I walked in, it wasn’t like a normal store. No one tried to press a sale, I was simply encouraged to play and have fun with the different products. I looked over and saw a row of 10 gaming computers, all connected to the online game, Fortnite, and all with small crowds of young adults milling around waiting for their turn. It felt like an 80s arcade thrown 35 years into the future. And despite not having purchased a Microsoft product for personal use for many years, I felt connected to their goal: making technology fun and accessible to all.
Although the closure of the stores makes sense—as COVID has decimated retail around the world, and Microsoft don’t need a retail presence to survive—I’m a little sad to think that the vibe and energy in those stores will no longer exist.