We’re entering the Christmas shopping season so a new Apple Retail Store Experiences topic is a timely one.

I was the the Apple store at the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica yesterday afternoon. The store was active and all of the new 27” iMacs were occupied by store patrons. I didn’t have much time so is spent just a few minutes at one the new 21.5” iMacs on display. It’s an impressive computer that will work well as both a nice piece of home entertainment equipment and as a fully functioning Mac.

I’ve seen 3 Apple Retail Stores in the last week.  In Hawaii now, and both the Royal Hawaiian and Ala Moana stores are only 2-3 miles apart.  Six months ago, it looked like the Royal Hawaiian store (a beautiful location) was going to be challenged by tourists more interested in the beach than computers.  But now, the store has really good traffic, significantly up from my last visit. 

The Ala Moana store reminds me of Bellevue—it is rocking most of the day.

And the new iMacs are great, I agree.  I’m ordering a Quad Core in November and will be selling my tower in the process.  Of course, I’ll be ordering the numeric keyboard…

The Century City store in LA’s Westfield shopping center was really packed yesterday evening - saw several Macbook Pros sold within a few minutes… iPhone training going on in front of large TV screen.

All the 27-inch iMacs were very popular, as were all the MacBooks… looks like a few people are getting an early start on their holiday shopping!

Walked in a newly designed Apple store last night - first reaction is how bright and clean you felt as you started to walk in.  When I owned my retail store I read about the psychology of shopping and the one big point was the need for a transition zone.  When you walk into a store you have to transition from getting to the store to shopping.  The key is to make that transition fast before the person walks through your initial displays.  With the new store designs, I literally wanted to stop at the door and take it all in.  Very nice experience.  Store wasn’t crowded at all which means nothing but the experience was a pleasant one for sure.

runedge - 06 November 2009 08:23 PM

Walked in a newly designed Apple store last night - first reaction is how bright and clean you felt as you started to walk in.  When I owned my retail store I read about the psychology of shopping and the one big point was the need for a transition zone.  When you walk into a store you have to transition from getting to the store to shopping.  The key is to make that transition fast before the person walks through your initial displays. 

A very good reason to eliminate the checkout booth (or table) that had been in the front of the stores. From a visual standpoint it created a barrier. Looking at the stores now from the door, one get the impression of bright, clean environment and an inviting place to shop.

I was in the Tampa International Mall Apple store early afternoon Thursday and there were about 60-70 people there. Half were at the Genius Bar and many waiting with appointments. I would guess that many of them are new to Mac. Must be a lot of “switchers” buying. I saw a few new Imacs going out the door also.
The store looks better than before with them getting rid of the check out counters in front.

The Apple Store where I live has never had check out counters. You walked in the door into a crowd of teens and adults pushing to get close to hardware beckoning from the tables. Paying for something has always involved using a staff member equipped with a digital device. This store is only three years old, so it’s possible Apple had already abandoned the check out counter by the door before it even opened, and recent changes are simply remodeling jobs on more mature locations. The new store about to open in Manhattan will probably be amazing: that parting curtain they have covering the windows is a great bit of promotion

willrob - 07 November 2009 05:23 PM

The Apple Store where I live has never had check out counters. You walked in the door into a crowd of teens and adults pushing to get close to hardware beckoning from the tables. Paying for something has always involved using a staff member equipped with a digital device. This store is only three years old, so it’s possible Apple had already abandoned the check out counter by the door before it even opened, and recent changes are simply remodeling jobs on more mature locations. The new store about to open in Manhattan will probably be amazing: that parting curtain they have covering the windows is a great bit of promotion

Actually they normally have one till at the end of the genius bar to handle cash-only transactions.

I went to the Pentagon City store while in DC for the weekend. I reserved an iPhone 3GS online before getting on the metro (yes, I finally gave in - original iPhone now becomes a development platform). When I arrived at opening time, there were already 20 people in the store. Checked in with the orange-shirted employee, and tested the magic mouse. My rep Troy had all the details, double checked my info, and got me activated in less than 20 minutes. (Interesting note, you are required to agree to the terms of service, located inside the retail box, which is sealed in plastic, which you can’t open until you sign.  Hmmm.)

The store layout is a bit different than any other I’ve seen (dozens). Walking in, the product section goes straight back. Then there is a jog to the right, leading to the accessories section and the genius bar. There is a block in the right back corner which is probably the storage/workshop area. Basically a T-shaped store. The layout made getting around the dozens of people a bit challenging.

New iMac 27” is unbelievably wide, bright, and pixel deep. Not all the macs were outfitted with the magic mouse. The rep said they can’t keep them in stock, even for their own machines.  I showed him the rumoured iPod Touch retail handheld, and he said he couldn’t wait to get rid of the WinCE POS scanner.

Went to the Partridge Creek Mall in Michigan today to pick up a replacement for my gummed up mouse.  Glad I bought Apple Care as it was a free replacement.  The store was pretty empty, but for this store on a weekday in the morning it is pretty typical.  Two changes the shirts are all single color and the folks are using the new ipod touch for checkout .

Not exactly an Apple Store experience, but closely related.

I was at a BBY store in northern GA the day after Windows 7 availability and the Apple counter was swamped.  Fortunately, experienced customers (ahem) were able to give a hand to the Apple guy.

I dropped by the Apple store twice yesterday. In the morning it was busy, but not crazy. Lots of employees helping. In the few minutes I was there, I saw three Macs leave the store. I dropped by again in the afternoon. While chatting with one of the guys, he mentioned that he personally had to bring 15 Macs from the back room in the last three hours.

Keep in mind that Canada don’t have the big Black Friday events like the US.

Was in 2 Chicago stores yesterday, both were very busy. There weren’t that many discounts so I didn’t expect them to be much busier than that. Employees said that they had big rushes in the morning when they opened. Employees love the new handheld scanners but both times the they had trouble scanning my card. iMacs seemed to be very popular as well as the iPhone activation station (Mrs.Chas is very happy with her new 3GS!)

OT, my Samsung contact says they had a very good day yesterday in the TV space (actually soldout some sizes) at a major retailer - something like 85K tvs went out this retailers door’s)

Was at the new NYC West Side store on Friday, it was not mobbed, but was VERY busy, the store is even more impressive in real life than the photo’s show it to be.

People WERE there to buy, not to look .... well given it was Black Friday, that is a good thing.

I also went up late on Thanksgiving Thursday to see it at night, it was closed and empty, but IT IS A STUNNER after dark!

TanToday - 28 November 2009 04:54 PM

Was at the new NYC West Side store on Friday, it was not mobbed, but was VERY busy, the store is even more impressive in real life than the photo’s show it to be.

People WERE there to buy, not to look .... well given it was Black Friday, that is a good thing.

I also went up late on Thanksgiving Thursday to see it at night, it was closed and empty, but IT IS A STUNNER after dark!

Great shot Tan.

Great shot Tan.

I didn’t have my camera with me at the night trip, so this pic, came from another person. It really DOES look this good at night however, stunning actually.