Despite living in a world where automatic renewal is a thing, a full two-thirds of European Xbox Live subscriptions are purchased at retail locations rather than online or through the console itself, according to Xbox Live marketing manager Robin Burrows.
This statistical tidbit was revealed during an interview with MCV, where Burrows also stated that Microsoft is in the process of testing new ways of manifesting digital products in meatspace, specifically referencing "point-of-sale activation," which allows shoppers to activate their newly purchased codes immediately after purchasing them.