Can I remove Windows App Store from Windows 8.1?

I was given the task of removing bloatware from a brand-new Acer laptop. My (and the laptop owner's) definition of bloatware includes all pre-installed Apps and the Winstore itself. You may disagree with that, but that's beside the point.

I tried the remove-appxpackage Powershell command with Winstore's ID and got an error, the important part of which is

This app is part of Windows and cannot be uninstalled on a per-user basis. An administrator can attempt to remove the app from the computer using Turn Windows Features on or off. However, it may not be possible to uninstall the app.

I didn't see any such option in the Windows Features menu. Can the Winstore be removed from Win8.1?

Here's the full error message (for reference):

remove-appxpackage : Deployment failed with HRESULT: 0x80073CFA, Removal failed. Please contact your software vendor.
(Exception from HRESULT: 0x80073CFA)
error 0x80070032: AppX Deployment Remove operation on package winstore_1.0.0.0_neutral_neutral_cw5n1h2txyewy from:
C:\Windows\WinStore failed. This app is part of Windows and cannot be uninstalled on a per-user basis. An
administrator can attempt to remove the app from the computer using Turn Windows Features on or off. However, it may
not be possible to uninstall the app.
NOTE: For additional information, look for [ActivityId] 83cee5eb-80ef-0001-3bc1-cf83ef80d001 in the Event Log or use
the command line Get-AppxLog -ActivityID 83cee5eb-80ef-0001-3bc1-cf83ef80d001
At line:1 char:1
+ remove-appxpackage winstore_1.0.0.0_neutral_neutral_cw5n1h2txyewy -confirm
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : WriteError: (winstore_1.0.0....l_cw5n1h2txyewy:String) [Remove-AppxPackage], IOException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : DeploymentError,Microsoft.Windows.Appx.PackageManager.Commands.RemoveAppxPackageCommand

I am sure you figured this out by now, but seeing as you haven't given this question an check mark for correct answer I am giving you my two cents.

First stop the service named:

1. Go to Services
2. Find the service called: Display Name: Windows Store Service(WSService)
3. Run "remove-appxpackage Winstore's ID"

This should remove the application, but only once the service is stopped. If you cannot find the service in Services, go find it in the registry. The registry name is: Service Name (registry): WSService

Let me know if this helps you a year and a half later. For future reference all applications running a services most likely need that service stopped before a remove is possible.

The UnderDog