Microsoft Closes All Retail Stores Amidst Coronavirus Outbreak
Mar. 17, 2020As a measure to reduce the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Microsoft announced earlier today that it hastemporarily closed all Microsoft Stores across the globe. The Redmond giant took to Twitter to share the news.
The company will continue offering online tech support during this period of crisis. Support resources can be found onMicrosoft Store support page.“We know families, remote workers and businesses are under unique pressure at this time, and we are still here to serve you online at microsoft.com,”reads Microsoft’s statement.
Earlier this week, Microsoft had initiatedsocial distancing policiesat its stores along with reduced working hours to ensure the health of its customers and employees. In fact, Microsoft was one of the first major tech companies to providework from homeoption to its employees.
Microsoft’s decision to temporarily close its stores comes a couple of days after Appledecided to halt its retail operationsexcept China. While Apple anticipates reopening its stores on the 27th of March, there is no clear timeline so far regarding Microsoft’s plans to reopen its retail stores.
With coronavirus’s spread getting increased day by day, several governments across the globe have banned mass gatherings to contain the spread of the virus. Hence, a lot of tech companies have either moved their tech events online or postponed until the outbreak settles down.
Subin writes about consumer tech, software, and security. He secretly misses the headphone jack while pretending he’s better off with the wireless freedom.
