Apple, since the days of Steve Jobs, has excelled at designing and developing stores that are, in themselves a draw for people. Look at the New York City Glass Cube, with the glass staircase. Brilliant concept and it more than paid of. I'm loaded up with Apple gear, but would love to walk through Apple Stores in London or Paris. Might even buy somethings if they have country specific products.GeorgeBMac said:
You're out of date. Customers don't buy in brick and mortar stores anymore. They buy online.
It is likely why Ahrendts left Apple -- she took her retail focus and rode off into the sunset in her horse and buggy.
Customers want to actually look at the specific product, touch it, try it out a bit. In the case of smaller products like the iPhone or a notebook or watch it is then just as easy to go ahead and buy it while you are at the store instead of spending days waiting for the UPS truck. Buying online for small products after spending time in the store is slower than the horse and buggy approach.
As for customers "just looking around", that is something that is frequently needed before the buying decision is made. The more expensive the product the more thought is needed for many people. Might even mean more than one trip to look and think.
Apple, since the days of Steve Jobs, has excelled at designing and developing stores that are, in themselves a draw for people. Look at the New York City Glass Cube, with the glass staircase. Brilliant concept and it more than paid of. I'm loaded up with Apple gear, but would love to walk through Apple Stores in London or Paris. Might even buy somethings if they have country specific products.GeorgeBMac said:
You're out of date. Customers don't buy in brick and mortar stores anymore. They buy online.
It is likely why Ahrendts left Apple -- she took her retail focus and rode off into the sunset in her horse and buggy.
Customers want to actually look at the specific product, touch it, try it out a bit. In the case of smaller products like the iPhone or a notebook or watch it is then just as easy to go ahead and buy it while you are at the store instead of spending days waiting for the UPS truck. Buying online for small products after spending time in the store is slower than the horse and buggy approach.
As for customers "just looking around", that is something that is frequently needed before the buying decision is made. The more expensive the product the more thought is needed for many people. Might even mean more than one trip to look and think.
Interesting that you deleted part of my comment, then argued that I didn't say it!
The part you deleted from my comment was:
Tim is wisely staying current with the times and converting Apple Stores
to do what they do best: Service Apple's customers and serve their
needs for education, repair and advice on a variety of topics. And, oh
yeh, if they want to buy something while they're there, that's fine.
So, I am not quite sure what you are arguing about -- unless you want Apple to restrict their stores to sales only and discourage people coming in for education, research products, advise, service or, just to look.
"So, I am not quite sure what you are arguing about -- unless you want Apple to restrict their stores to sales only and discourage people coming in for education, research products, advise, service or, just to look. "
What I was referring to was the general assumption that people are buying stuff on the internet so Apple really won't be needing to sell stuff in brick & mortar store they sell all that stuff on the internet.
I can remember this past December (early December) where people were standing in line for about 20 minutes just to get their name on the list to talk to a salesman. That's an odd time of the shopping year but it reflects that people will wait a long time at the Apple Store instead of spending a few minutes at home buying a watch, iPhone or laptop. They can ever relax with a cup of coffee while ordering on line. Their only worry would be Porch Pirates.
Apple has to sell stuff to stay in business, and customers are going to have to buy. This outlet has to be a store. Sorry, Tim.
What he said was "Tim Cook however suggests the new space won't be primarily about sales, stating 'Probably one of the least done things in an Apple Store is to buy something.' "
He's not wrong - go into Apple and watch how many people are actually buying vs. the numbers who are just playing with items or getting support.
But 10 minutes later (if it suits him better), he’ll say AppleStores have the highest sales yield per square feet - so why listen to this blatter
The statements “AppleStores [sic] have the highest sales yield per square feet” and “probably one of the least done things in an Apple Store is to buy something” can both be true.
Nope. It's about selling iPhones and other consumer goods. Tim Cook is Pr spewing again. It's a corporation. Its objective is to make money.
They got a massive tax break and spent it on stock buybacks. They are planning an even bigger one this year. they re capitalists. and yes, you are their product.
Apple has to sell stuff to stay in business, and customers are going to have to buy. This outlet has to be a store. Sorry, Tim.
What he said was "Tim Cook however suggests the new space won't be primarily about sales, stating 'Probably one of the least done things in an Apple Store is to buy something.' "
He's not wrong - go into Apple and watch how many people are actually buying vs. the numbers who are just playing with items or getting support.
But 10 minutes later (if it suits him better), he’ll say AppleStores have the highest sales yield per square feet - so why listen to this blatter
The statements “AppleStores [sic] have the highest sales yield per square feet” and “probably one of the least done things in an Apple Store is to buy something” can both be true.
Mutually (though not exclusively) inconsistent
No it's not. He has the numbers, and my guess is he knows fully well that out of x number of people in an Apple Store on any normal given day, a minority of people are buying products, an a majority are doing something else, whether it's getting help at the Genius Bar, going to a Today at Apple session, looking around and trying things out, etc. I'm not sure why people are arguing about this as if Cook said they're not stores at all — they're both stores and other things, hence coming up with a better name than "Store".
I actually thought they had formally dropped "Store" from the name under Ahrendts.
Comments
As for customers "just looking around", that is something that is frequently needed before the buying decision is made. The more expensive the product the more thought is needed for many people. Might even mean more than one trip to look and think.
The part you deleted from my comment was:
What I was referring to was the general assumption that people are buying stuff on the internet so Apple really won't be needing to sell stuff in brick & mortar store they sell all that stuff on the internet.
I can remember this past December (early December) where people were standing in line for about 20 minutes just to get their name on the list to talk to a salesman. That's an odd time of the shopping year but it reflects that people will wait a long time at the Apple Store instead of spending a few minutes at home buying a watch, iPhone or laptop. They can ever relax with a cup of coffee while ordering on line. Their only worry would be Porch Pirates.
They got a massive tax break and spent it on stock buybacks. They are planning an even bigger one this year. they re capitalists. and yes, you are their product.
I actually thought they had formally dropped "Store" from the name under Ahrendts.