At Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference, COO Kevin Turner says Microsoft is going to "build dozens more stores" and is "just getting started."
"Microsoft Stores are an incredible learning vehicle for us," Turner notes. A funny comment if you consider how well the company has automated its customer service to avoid human contact.
If Kinect is a hit in the gaming market…and if Windows Phone 7 devices pull as well as Windows 7 PCs… then these products could pull people inside Microsoft Stores.
To see how serious Microsoft is about retail, there's the Microsoft Retail Experience Center—an invitation-only, 20,000 sq.ft. interactive store environment located at Microsoft main campus.
A retail test lab, it could easily be mistaken for a real electronics superstore. The emphasis is on making the retail experience more connected— connecting stores with one another, with their employees, and with their customers.
Take the shopping cart, with integrated touchscreen. Or Microsoft Tag, a scanning technology that works with cell phone. cell phone. A Surface tabletop computer. RFID tags.
Go to the Microsoft Retail Experience Center
