After announcing its global tie-up with Best Buy recently, Microsoft is planning to set up experience zones in big retail stores in India where customers can have a hands-on experience to various Microsoft devices like PCs and tablets running Windows and mobile phones running Windows Phone 8. Customers may also use and experience various tools and apps in Windows 8. These new experience zones and retail stores will reportedly promote hardware running Windows.
General Manager Consumer channels group, Microsoft India Mr. Chakrapani Gollapali said, “We are planning to open Windows Stores in India in coming days. They will be experience zones that will be setup within existing stores of multiband retailers or malls to provide customers hands on experience of our complete line up of products right from devices to software.”
This move can turn beneficial to Microsoft as it may interest the shoppers’ at large retailers, which further could lead to increase in sales and profitability.
That initiative would put Software giant Microsoft in one-on-one competition against Google who made an official announcement last week saying that it will open physical Android stores, called Android Nation, in India in next few days. These ‘Android Nation’ store from Google will also run as retail stores for Android powered devices as well experience zones where customers can use and experience the devices.
This move of Microsoft however can also be seen as the race against Apple which has some of its most money-spinning branded retail shops at 11 sites.
So, now when both Google and Microsoft have announced the opening of their new stores in India, it would be interesting enough to see how well they execute it.
