Microsoft starts selling PCs online
NEW YORK—In a surprise move, Microsoft has started selling computers and third-party software via its online store. — It's part of a broader push to try to give Windows the kind of lift that Apple has gotten from its network of retail stores.
Context & Ripple Effects
Microsoft has been moving closer to PC retail since its low-cost PC sales initiative in India and paired that commercial shift with a campaign to redefine the “PC” against Apple. The online store extends that effort from Windows messaging into the purchase path.
The move arrives with Windows 7’s launch and after Apple refreshed its consumer Mac lines. Microsoft is seeking a direct storefront model that can present Windows PCs and third-party software as a coordinated offer, rather than leaving that presentation entirely to hardware makers and retailers.
First-order effects
- Microsoft gains a direct sales and merchandising channel for selected PCs and third-party software, giving buyers a Microsoft-controlled place to shop alongside conventional PC retail channels.
- PC makers whose systems are carried in the store gain Microsoft-led distribution, while the company can define which hardware and software combinations represent the Windows experience.
Second-order effects
- Microsoft’s direct retail role creates channel pressure for PC makers and electronics retailers, which must compete with a storefront operated by the supplier of the operating system.
- Apple’s store-based model becomes a more immediate benchmark: Windows PC sellers must make the software, hardware, and support proposition legible as a package rather than rely on price comparisons alone.
Third-order effects
- If Microsoft expands direct PC sales, the Windows ecosystem shifts modestly from a software-licensing model toward a curated retail model in which Microsoft has more influence over the end-customer experience.
- The broader contest is increasingly over control of the buying and ownership experience—not only operating-system features—with platform owners seeking a larger role in hardware selection and software attachment.
The trend: PC platform owners are moving closer to retail to shape the customer experience and capture more of the software-and-hardware purchase relationship.