Microsoft announced that it will be closing all 83 physical stores worldwide and "re-imagining" its four high Experience Centers in New York City, London, Sydney, and Redmond in a "strategic change" as sales increasingly shift online. The company said that the closures would result in a pretax charge of about 450 million United States dollars worth about 0.05 dollars per share, taken in the current quarter which ends on June 30th, 2020.

In a LinkedIn post, Microsoft Store Vice President David Porter stated that no retail employees will be removed from the payroll as all affected employees will be offered alternative positions. The company plans to offer digital assistance and online support for shoppers through online tutorial videos and workshops alongside 1:1 video chat support.    

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