Razer has permanently closed its downtown San Francisco store after 9 years of declining foot traffic

When the Razer Store opened in the Westfield San Francisco mall all the way back in 2016, it was advertised as a hub for gamers to gather, run tournaments, and try out Razer products firsthand in ways that would otherwise be impossible to do online or in big box retailers. It was a neat idea that focused more on exposure and user experience rather than raw sales numbers. Unfortunately, the store had its last day on March 31 and the rest of the mall is expected to follow by the end of April.

The closure is just one of many store locations shuttering their doors around the city due to ongoing issues related to work-from-home practices, tech market uncertainty, and the uncouth streets surrounding downtown all of which contribute to lower foot traffic. When your entire brick-and-mortar store is built around attracting eyes and passers by, the lack of any actual shoppers in the area is already a huge red flag.

According to the San Francisco Examiner, the Razer store attracted fewer than a dozen people everyday and when considering that the Razer store is located right next to one of the entrances to the Westfield mall building, a dozen people likely isn't far off from the total daily number of people entering the mall in general.

As someone who lives in San Francisco and passes by the Westfield mall every few weeks, the writing was on the wall for the Razer store even prior to Covid. Foot traffic had already been steadily declining and the Razer store was almost always empty on any given day.

Other Razer locations such as the ones in London, Santa Clara, and Las Vegas continue to thrive. These stores are all newer than the San Francisco location with brighter and more visually welcoming designs.