[freiervogel]

TL;DR: It may happen, but nothing about Microsoft's position in the market seems inevitable going forward.

Most people outside the HN bubble actually like and admire Microsoft because it's what they know ---- and most importantly, they don't care about computing enough to know the differences between things, so they go with the comfortable and familiar. Apple's premium pricing keeps a lot of people away from the Mac (not that Apple needs to care -- their business model is fantastic for their bottom line). So, for most people -- the Android crowd that uses MSFT at work -- Microsoft stores could become something meaningful in the overall landscape.

Then again, since most of the people I'm talking about just don't care that much...when the time comes to buy that new laptop they might not ever make it to the store when the (already familiar and comfortable) Best Buy / Costco / Sam's / Walmart / Dell / Amazon buying experience will do just fine.