Introducing the Microsoft Store

This is something I think is pretty exciting – especially if you’re looking to score some Microsoft product. We are announcing the Microsoft Store – the first online store where you can purchase Microsoft products straight from the source!

We’re selling all of our products at a one-stop-shop: www.MicrosoftStore.com. 

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The Microsoft Store offers the largest selection of Microsoft software, devices and hardware in one place.  You will find many reasons to visit the store:

  • Immediate software download option with the largest download catalog of Microsoft titles.
  • Most up-to-date selection of and information on everyone’s favorite Microsoft products including Windows, Office, Xbox, Zune and more!
  • Simple and secure purchases with full Microsoft support both before and after purchase.

We’re not just launching the Microsoft Store for US customers. In addition to the US Microsoft Store, there are also online stores for customers in the UK, Germany and Korea.  Japan, France, Spain and the Netherlands are coming soon.  More countries will be coming onboard throughout the year.

I’ll be picking myself up one of the new Microsoft LifeCam Show webcams from the Microsoft Store as I had been looking to pick one up for a while now.

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Comments

  1. MiCCAS
    Posted on: November 14, 2008 at 2:51AM  

    Once again Australian's miss out on another great place from Microsoft *sigh*.

  2. MiCCAS
    Posted on: November 14, 2008 at 2:51AM  

    (P.S. The design of the site is GREAT!)

  3. thurrott
    Posted on: November 14, 2008 at 9:27AM  

    I mean no offense, but The Microsoft Store is not ""the first online store where you can purchase Microsoft products straight from the source." That would be Windows Marketplace, which has been available for several years. In fact, Windows Marketplace offers several niceties not found on the Microsoft Store, not the least of which is the availability of third-party software. So maybe the Microsoft is really ""the first online store where you can purchase *only* Microsoft products straight from the source." :)

  4. Trevin Chow
    Microsoft
    Posted on: November 14, 2008 at 9:55PM  

    HI everyone, I'm the Lead Program Manager on Microsoft Store.  Thanks for all the great comments so far.

    Just wanted to chime in on two questions that were asked. First, the roll-out to more international countries is something you'll see us progressively do over the course of the year, which includes some in 2008.

    Second, the Microsoft Store US does not do restrictions based on IP for your purchases, but do require a US billing and shipping addresses.  So if you are traveling overseas and are craving to buy something from Microsoft Store, you can indeed do that.

  5. dovella
    Posted on: November 15, 2008 at 3:34AM  

    @ Trevin

    could be interesting,at least for the products making DOWNLOAD able to purchase international

    Like Windows or Gaming PC

  6. Quikboy
    Posted on: November 15, 2008 at 4:33AM  

    How does this bode for Windows Marketplace?

    I really like the Microsoft Store btw. It may not be a retail store (which I've always wanted to see at a local mall!), but it's better than typical MS sites. However:

    1. I feel there needs to be more info. - In the effort to keep the site as simple and clean as possible, I think the site makers were a bit too spare on the information side. I'd like more screenshots, maybe a video overview, tips & tricks section, and guides. Heck, why not just integrate all the product sites together?

    2. Cheaper prices - Considering there's no shipping or physical media and packaging to do, shouldn't the prices be cheaper? I'd think the prices online would be cheaper and convenient that a brick store.

    3. Missing items - I didn't spot Encarta. I would also like older versions of products too.

    4. No stock images please! - I think generic stock images are pretty tacky, and at least I only spotted one this time, on the Windows section. Please, if you want a nice clean sleek site, generic stock photos need to be avoided.

    Keep up the good work guys!

  7. hitmouse
    Posted on: November 15, 2008 at 5:16AM  

    @TREVIN: only permitting a domestic shipping address when you're travelling overseas on business kind of misses the point doesn't it?

    On the occasion that I have to rebuild or expand my laptop while travelling (which is not uncommon), the take away from this is that the Microsoft Store is useless.

    I'm also curious to know if you will be able to buy foreign-language SKUs from stores. Since Microsoft has made this extremely difficult (even for Microsoft employees via the MS employee store), it ignores the fact that MILLIONS of people around the world who live and work in countries that do not use their first language. Result? Piracy and purchasing unsupported gray-market editions of non-domestic SKUs.

    All in all, it makes me wonder what customer need this store solves. Given that the margins are already being reported to be higher than external vendors, and that the delivery options are less, who are you actually targetting?

  8. Trevin Chow
    Microsoft
    Posted on: November 15, 2008 at 10:46PM  

    @Hitmouse:

    If you are traveling, you always have the option to buy ESD products, then there is no shipping involved.   We didn't target the US store to ship internationally since we do have international stores for other markets.  Addtionally, If you look at other retailers, this is not an uncommon practice.

    Additionally, if you do buy ESD, you can always re-download it wherever you are in the world.  In your example where your laptop fails and needs to be re-installed, you would want to use a previously purchased license instead of buying a new one.

    At this time, the SKUs for sale on each Microsoft Store are only ones that are available for that market. So you wouldn't find a SKU that is meant for sale in the EU being sold on the US Microsoft Store (or vice versa).

  9. hitmouse
    Posted on: November 16, 2008 at 3:35AM  

    @Trevin:

    I assume though that wherever I travel, I can only buy from the store if I have a credit card address corresponding to a particular store. Does the issueing bank also have to correspond to the store's country? I've been burned by this before (in fact as a past employee of MS, not being able to use a credit card with a billing address in a country different to that of the issuing bank) - which is a restriction of the vendor, not the credit cardcompanies.

    "We didn't target the US store to ship internationally since we do have international stores for other markets.  Addtionally, If you look at other retailers, this is not an uncommon practice."

    One might wonder if Microsoft is going to aim for best practice rather than worst.

    So a Korean student in the US wouldn't be able to buy a Korean version of Windows or Office unless there was a Korean store and he had a credit card billing address in Korea.

    Any indication on when Australian or NZ stores will be available?

  10. Trevin Chow
    Microsoft
    Posted on: November 16, 2008 at 5:35AM  

    @Hitmouse:

    We currently only allow customers with a billing address in the market served. So in your example of a Korean student living in the US with only a Korean billing address, they would not be able to buy from the US Microsoft Store.

    However, this situation would likely not occur, since a student living in the US would likely have some type of bank account unless they live their life entirely in cash and store it under their mattress :)

    But in all seriousness, we do have the limitation you describe. The upside is that the vast majority of customers don't have the particular situation you've identified.  For the small percentage of customers that do need this capability, it's something we could look at enabling in the future.

    As for our international roll-out schedule, we don't have definitive plans to share yet for Australia or New Zealand.

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