First look at Walmart's Apple store-within-a-store
Some of the first pictures of Walmart's new Apple store-within-a-store concept hit the web on Monday, showing a layout and design similar to Apple's clean and ordered retail outlets.
A Lowell, Arkansas Walmart location is one of the first in the nation to roll out the Apple store-within-a-store, a dedicated space that is distinctly separate from the rest of the big-box retailer's other departments.
Photos of the new space posted on Apple retail blog ifoapplestore.com show a clean and industrial design that mimics the basic look and feel of Apple Stores worldwide. Products sit atop a wooden tabletop, in this case with shelf space for stock storage, and are paired with acrylic advertising placards that hold technical specifications, configuration information and pricing. Apple's own stores have since replaced most of this signage with iPads running specially designed software.
The main area consists of two large tables with corresponding backlit one-sheets for Apple's main product lines and is set apart from its surroundings with a dark carpet. Accessories and tertiary products are arranged outside the carpeted area on regular Walmart shelving.
In order to concentrate the maximum number of products into one small area, Walmart had to choose which item to feature as display models. Hot-sellers like the iPad, iPod touch and iPhone 4S units are available to test-drive, while other products like the iPod nano and iPod shuffle are locked behind glass security doors beneath the tabletop displays.
New signage prominently displayed at Walmart's Lowell, Ark. location. | Source: ifoapplestore.com
Security for the on-display items is said to be tighter than Apple Store counterparts and is most likely due to lack of staff dedicated to oversee the area.
Less popular products are locked behind security glass.
Walmart's attempt at an Apple store-within-a-store is likely the first of many, and other nationwide resellers like Target are slowly rolling out similar offerings later this year. Competing electronics outlet Best Buy already has an Apple section in many of its stores.
Acrylic placards are used in place of the iPads seen in current Apple Stores.
Internationally, Harrods of London recently opened its "Apple Shop" as part of the famous department store's new "Harrods Technology" section.
Apple first pioneered the store-within-a-store concept with CompUSA in 1997.
[ View article on AppleInsider ]
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I am not being a snob but rather when buying things out of Walmart's electronics department I have experienced both good and appalling service.
"New Apple displays begin appearing at Walmart retail stores" Cool! Walmart selling Apple ACDs! Great News, I need a new Apple Display! Oh, wait...
Is that a triple sarcasm tag you put at the end of every single post of yours?
"New Apple displays begin appearing at Walmart retail stores" Cool! Walmart selling Apple ACDs! Great News, I need a new Apple Display! Oh, wait...
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Yeah, when I first read that title thats what I thought as well.
Looks nice enough but without a dedicated sales staff it might not do that well. It certainly will not be the usual Apple experience.
I've seen many beautiful displays and setups quickly go to scheiße because they were monitored or maintained. I fear this will happen without some contract that allows the devices to be checked and maintained periodically, and if the devices are allowed to be tampered with without the system automatically resetting the OS.
But have you ever seen how scratched, scuffed, and grimy they are at all stores.
Nope. They always look nice in the Apple Stores I frequent.
I don't go into Walmart for electronics unless I've already done my homework. Walmart employees generally don't know squat when it comes to most products. That also stands for target, Kmart, etc.
Something is wrong in the fact that Apple products are sold in Crapmart but not in Costco.
Either Apple is crap (which we all know is not a case) or Costco is more of a crapstore than Wallmart itself
The only thing I find Wal Mart to be good for is certain cheaper groceries.
If I want to test out an iPad, I either go to the Apple Store, or one of their authorized resellers which 100% copies the Apple Store format. There's a reason why Walmarts have Purell dispensers at the entrances (which nobody uses) and Apple stores don't.
Something is wrong in the fact that Apple products are sold in Crapmart but not in Costco.
Either Apple is crap (which we all know is not a case) or Costco is more of a crapstore than Wallmart itself
Walmart and Sams Club are owned by the same company. Costco and Apple ended their relationship in 2010. Sounds like Apple wouldn't give Costco the ability to sell online or offer the iPad so the two mutually agreed to end their relationship. http://www.appleinsider.com/articles..._products.html
I imagine there were other factors involved as well. Possibly Costco wanted bigger margins.
Case of dog food for the dog
Case of motor oil for the pickup
...and a single iPad???
I don't get this strategy at all.
http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/
Wal-mart is the biggest retailer in the world. Why do you assume there is just one type of person who shops there? Besides the fact that you're a bigot?
The level of bigotry on this board is amazing, and disgusting.
Wal-mart is the biggest retailer in the world. Why do you assume there is just one type of person who shops there? Besides the fact that you're a bigot?
It's a stereotype; calm down. It's no more true than any other stereotype.