Target keeping iPad under lock and key

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
Target stores, which began carrying the iPad on Oct. 3, have setup special displays for the iPad, but are keeping the device and its accessories locked up, according to a new report.



ifoAppleStore visited several of Target's 1,743 stores to investigate their iPad displays. The report noted that the area set aside for the iPad in the electronics section of the store was noticeably empty of customers or salespeople. With no actual iPad on display and the extra step of having to ask a salesperson for help to look at the devices or its accessories, Target's retail strategy for the iPad goes against Apple's core retail values.



The iPod section at Target, which is directly adjacent to the new iPad display, doesn't provide hands-on experience with the devices either, but, unlike the iPad display, it does have a few demo units on display underneath a transparent cover.



By comparison, checks by ifoAppleStore revealed that a nearby Best Buy had live displays of the iPad available for customers. Best Buy was a limited launch partner of the iPad, eventually offering the tablet at all 1,093 of its stores on Sept. 26.



In late September, Target held a press conference to announce that it would begin carrying all six models of the iPad on October 3. At the time, Target anticipated strong holiday sales of the device at its retail stores.



?Target is very excited to offer the revolutionary iPad to our guests nationwide,? said Target senior vice president of merchandising Mark Schindele in a press release. ?We are committed to providing our guests with the best products and we think iPad will be at the top of our guests? holiday shopping lists.?



According to the Associated Press, customers at Target's Cupertino, Calif., store "mostly browsed," asking questions about pricing and 3G service.



"We hope to sell a lot more later this week, once people are more aware that we carry it," electronics team member Chetna Parikh told the AP in an interview.



Target has yet to release sales figures for Sunday's iPad launch.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 39
    onhkaonhka Posts: 1,025member


    The Apple Store is down.
  • Reply 2 of 39
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Onhka View Post




    The Apple Store is down.




    Thanks for the tip!
  • Reply 3 of 39
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Onhka View Post




    The Apple Store is down.




    White iPhone? Pink unicorn? Which legendary myth will it be?



  • Reply 4 of 39
    kibitzerkibitzer Posts: 1,114member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Onhka View Post




    The Apple Store is down.




    Not to worry. They do so periodically to install big batches of content revisions. It usually takes a few hours and they do it in the overnight period in the U.S. Take two aspirin and check back in the morning.
  • Reply 5 of 39
    I saw the pink unicorn! Really! I did!
  • Reply 6 of 39
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Target stores, which began carrying the iPad on Oct. 3, have setup special displays for the iPad, but are keeping the device and its accessories locked up, according to a new report.



    ifoAppleStore visited several of Target's 1,743 stores to investigate their iPad displays. The report noted that the area set aside for the iPad in the electronics section of the store was noticeably empty of customers or salespeople. With no actual iPad on display and the extra step of having to ask a salesperson for help to look at the devices or its accessories, Target's retail strategy for the iPad goes against Apple's core retail values.



    So many companies don't "get" Apple's core retail values. Typical retail mentality - the more popular it is, the more you got to not demo it and keep it tightly guarded and only sell to "genuine" buyers. Also it helps if none of the staff know much or anything about it.
  • Reply 7 of 39
    On the one hand, more retail vendors for the iPad is, in general, a good thing. Err, assuming that customers also get a good sales experience.



    Maybe Target just hasn't got their sales staff training kits deployed yet...



    Or maybe its like back in the bad-ole days when some of the CompUSA stores would actually steer a customer inquiring about Macs over to a 'just-as-good' windows machine instead.



    Sort of like (OK, its totally hypothetical and off the wall):

    Sales staffer - "iPads, well, you can look but not much. Now if you really want something cool, check out this Etch-A-Sketch which you can actually try out and make neato designs and pictures on."



    OK, back to my saner view (more or less)



    Really, I'm thinking it's just an initial take till they get a handle on how customer response is.
  • Reply 8 of 39
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by theAppleMan912 View Post


    I don't get why they need to lock them up - the iPad is out...oh wait. 7 inch iPad.



    LOL nearly gave me a heart attack there... I went immediately to Apple Store online to see if a 7-inch iPad was out. Store's still down, so anything's possible, even a double rainbow for sale!
  • Reply 9 of 39
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bruce Young View Post


    On the one hand, more retail vendors for the iPad is, in general, a good thing. Err, assuming that customers also get a good sales experience.



    Maybe Target just hasn't got their sales staff training kits deployed yet...



    Or maybe its like back in the bad-ole days when some of the CompUSA stores would actually steer a customer inquiring about Macs over to a 'just-as-good' windows machine instead.



    Sort of like (OK, its totally hypothetical and off the wall):

    Sales staffer - "iPads, well, you can look but not much. Now if you really want something cool, check out this Etch-A-Sketch which you can actually try out and make neato designs and pictures on."



    OK, back to my saner view (more or less)



    Really, I'm thinking it's just an initial take till they get a handle on how customer response is.



    You're from the Bay Area... I remember, oh, 2000-2002, before the very 1st Apple Store even. Best place to buy Macs in San Francisco, or almost the only place I actually knew of, was the dreaded CompUSA on Market Street. Those were the horrible, horrible days pre-official Apple Stores.
  • Reply 10 of 39
    emulatoremulator Posts: 251member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post


    So many companies don't "get" Apple's core retail values. Typical retail mentality - the more popular it is, the more you got to not demo it and keep it tightly guarded and only sell to "genuine" buyers. Also it helps if none of the staff know much or anything about it.



    it has more to do with the quality of people going there. They lock everything from Nintendo to PSP.
  • Reply 11 of 39
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post


    You're from the Bay Area... I remember, oh, 2000-2002, before the very 1st Apple Store even. Best place to buy Macs in San Francisco, or almost the only place I actually knew of, was the dreaded CompUSA on Market Street. Those were the horrible, horrible days pre-official Apple Stores.



    ... the one at the corner of Market and Grant Sts (at least that's the location I recall from my downtown days in the city there). It was only a block from where the modern Apple SF store would be.



    and across the street and up a bit was the old Egghead store. Wow, that one disappeared a long time back... time flies ...



    Or as Groucho Marx said:

    Quote:

    Time flies like an arrow,

    Fruit flies like a banana.





    Let's hope it all works out.

    Good for Apple, good for Target, good for customers -- one can always hope.
  • Reply 12 of 39
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bruce Young View Post


    ... the one at the corner of Market and Grant Sts (at least that's the location I recall from my downtown days in the city there). It was only a block from where the modern Apple SF store would be.



    and across the street and up a bit was the old Egghead store. Wow, that one disappeared a long time back... time flies ....



    Yup... that's the one. Wow. Almost 10 years since I went into that CompUSA. They had the Internet bar with about five iMacs in the different colours. I don't remember Egghead...
  • Reply 13 of 39
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Kibitzer View Post


    Not to worry. They do so periodically to install big batches of content revisions. It usually takes a few hours and they do it in the overnight period in the U.S. Take two aspirin and check back in the morning.



    Still, it seems silly to close the web store like that. Does anyone have insights to how large web shops operate? Admittedly, I'm on a far smaller scale, but the service I use allows me to add and remove products, change details, change pictures, change the entire store's theme, change the front page, all without having to "close" the store. Come to think of it, Apple is the only one I can think of that decides to do it this way, it just seems anachronistic.
  • Reply 14 of 39
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by emulator View Post


    it has more to do with the quality of people going there. They lock everything from Nintendo to PSP.



    It's a variation of virtually everywhere though. Apple locks away most of its inventory, save for the demo unit, the same with Best Buy for expensive, coveted electronics in small boxes. Target goes one step further that there is usually no iDevice that you can touch, Apple and Best Buy has a tethered device so you can play with it.
  • Reply 15 of 39
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Target stores, which began carrying the iPad on Oct. 3, have setup special displays for the iPad, but are keeping the device and its accessories locked up, according to a new report.



    ifoAppleStore visited several of Target's 1,743 stores to investigate their iPad displays. The report noted that the area set aside for the iPad in the electronics section of the store was noticeably empty of customers or salespeople. With no actual iPad on display and the extra step of having to ask a salesperson for help to look at the devices or its accessories, Target's retail strategy for the iPad goes against Apple's core retail values.



    The iPod section at Target, which is directly adjacent to the new iPad display, doesn't provide hands-on experience with the devices either, but, unlike the iPad display, it does have a few demo units on display underneath a transparent cover.



    By comparison, checks by ifoAppleStore revealed that a nearby Best Buy had live displays of the iPad available for customers. Best Buy was a limited launch partner of the iPad, eventually offering the tablet at all 1,093 of its stores on Sept. 26.



    In late September, Target held a press conference to announce that it would begin carrying all six models of the iPad on October 3. At the time, Target anticipated strong holiday sales of the device at its retail stores.



    ?Target is very excited to offer the revolutionary iPad to our guests nationwide,? said Target senior vice president of merchandising Mark Schindele in a press release. ?We are committed to providing our guests with the best products and we think iPad will be at the top of our guests? holiday shopping lists.?



    According to the Associated Press, customers at Target's Cupertino, Calif., store "mostly browsed," asking questions about pricing and 3G service.



    "We hope to sell a lot more later this week, once people are more aware that we carry it," electronics team member Chetna Parikh told the AP in an interview.



    Target has yet to release sales figures for Sunday's iPad launch.



    It shows you what type of customers shop in Target.Apple screwed up big time with Target by letting them distribute their product like the i pad.
  • Reply 16 of 39
    kerrynkerryn Posts: 87member
    I would think that most Target customers wanting an iPad will not be after it for themselves but rather buying one for someone else as a gift. Therefore for them, they probably don't care if they can "play" with the device before purchase.
  • Reply 17 of 39
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kerryn View Post


    I would think that most Target customers wanting an iPad will not be after it for themselves but rather buying one for someone else as a gift. Therefore for them, they probably don't care if they can "play" with the device before purchase.



    Thinking about it, this is probably the case. Between Best Buy, the Apple Store, Target, and probably wal-mart sooner or later, everyone's going to know what the iPad is like, anyway.
  • Reply 18 of 39
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JeffDM;


    Still, it seems silly to close the web store like that. Does anyone have insights to how large web shops operate? Admittedly, I'm on a far smaller scale, but the service I use allows me to add and remove products, change details, change pictures, change the entire store's theme, change the front page, all without having to "close" the store. Come to think of it, Apple is the only one I can think of that decides to do it this way, it just seems anachronistic.



    There is ongoing speculation that Apple does it for hype, which is clearly the case for big launches. As for maintenance and so on though, shutting down the entire web store globally, that's weird, I'm sure it leads to major lost sales.
  • Reply 19 of 39
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JeffDM;


    It's a variation of virtually everywhere though. Apple locks away most of its inventory, save for the demo unit, the same with Best Buy for expensive, coveted electronics in small boxes. Target goes one step further that there is usually no iDevice that you can touch, Apple and Best Buy has a tethered device so you can play with it.



    Locking stuff away is fine. But Apple stuff is successful because of the tons of demos available so that you can play with it and really get a feel of it. Even Apple resellers around the world are not allowed nor are supplied with dummy units in almost all cases.



    Tight security for all products. Except for the demo units which must be accessible, just use one of them security cord thingys.



    Nothing more I dislike than small boxes under glass that you then got to ask about, and the salesperson doesn't or can't open it up, they have to evaluate if you're actually going to buy it, etc... Totally counterproductive retail experience. Demo it.
  • Reply 20 of 39
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kerryn;


    I would think that most Target customers wanting an iPad will not be after it for themselves but rather buying one for someone else as a gift. Therefore for them, they probably don't care if they can "play" with the device before purchase.



    I know it's complicated but if I were the retailer "sacrificing" one unit for demo purposes could easily mean twice or five times as many sales. You play with an iPad in person, you're going to be seriously thinking of getting it. Basic psychology. Sure some have already decided, but many may not be exposed.
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