Earlier today in a press release, Gamestop announced a major strategic partnership with Microsoft which is aiming to essentially improve the customer experience with the game store on all fronts. That includes revamped in-store and online experiences.
First off, the back-end of all the in-store software will be moving over to Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 platform. The biggest customer-facing differences will be an improved ability to track real-time product availability numbers and a more personalized in-store customer experience based upon individual consumer data.
There are no details on exactly how these personalized experiences will be compared to the current system, but we will certainly report on any new information as it becomes available.
A major visible difference will be the move from sales associates accessing everything on desktop PCs to being more mobile around the store with a Microsoft Surface in hand. This mobility issue isn’t a problem for smaller stores, but it could help with customer engagement in the locations with a larger footprint.
Gamestop’s CFO, Jim Bell, seems confident that these changes will not only help improve the GameStop experience on the consumer end, but also for their associates.
By standardizing on Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365, all accessed with Microsoft Surface devices at our fingertips, we will be able to create a better connection with our associates and provide them with powerful new tools to deliver rich engaging experiences to our customers while significantly enhancing our cross-channel view of inventory ensuring the most efficient delivery of products to our customers.
GameStop also plans to equip more than 30,000 stores with Microsoft 365 apps (Excel, Outlook, etc.) as well as Microsoft Teams. The latter is Microsoft’s answer to Slack that can be used for text chats, video chats, file sharing, and just about anything else when it comes to collaboration within the workplace.
The biggest part of this deal for the consumer is the ability to sign up for an Xbox All Access plan through Gamestop. This 24-month plan gets you a brand-new Xbox with two years of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate with no down payment required.
There’s no indication if this partnership between Gamestop and Microsoft is a part of the game store’s renovation plan that was announced back in July of last year or if it’s something completely unrelated.
Either way, it’s encouraging to see that GameStop is making an effort to stay profitable while improving the customer experience.
