For a while, Microsoft (News - Alert) has stuck to its trend of releasing its software to the public and letting the actual sales through the hands of the many computer retailers. This time they are moving out of the norm and diving headlong into the retail market. Microsoft has taken up the task of dictating how computers go on display in big-box stores together with how to pitch and explain them to shoppers. This move comes with systems running the latest OS (Windows 8) going on sale, Friday.

The company also has plans of increasing its own retail shops to sell directly to the customers. The move comes after the success of the initial 2009 campaign that saw to it that the sales of the Windows 7 operating system rose above the frustrating effort from its predecessor, windows Vista. The company is moving to fill up the whole left by the slow departure of its top high-street retailers who used to handle the retailing task.


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The plan to add to its already existent 20 stores dispersed all over the U.S in the next few years are hampered by the bottleneck of pinpointing suitable sites, getting planning permission and the actual task of setting up and staffing the stores. The company faces a tricky trade off that involves focusing on the heavy product launch schedule and creating the retail centers.

Microsoft has, however revealed plans to launch exactly 32 pop-up retail stores before the 2012 holiday season. The temporary physical presence of Microsoft will rest on sites across North America, U.S and Canada. Some of the selected locations include Miami, Las Vegas, Edmonton and New York.

Apart from Windows 8, the company also seeks to generate public interest in its new range of Surface Tablets, whose RT version arrives alongside the revamped OS. Microsoft believes that retail presence will be important in convincing mainstream users that they not only need a tablet in their life but also an OS that can rise up to the occasion.

We have hopes that Microsoft will see to it that international locations are included in the schedule to break the home ground consideration trend.