Apple Drops In-store Personal Shopping Service

Apple has quietly dropped references to its Personal Shopping service from the company’s retail store Web site earlier this week. The change means customers won’t be able to make appointments for personal product demonstrations any more.

Personal Shopping goes MIA

The Personal Shopping service was introduced into Apple’s retail stores in May 2007, and offered customers a way to get one-on-one time with a specialist for product demonstrations. Appointments could be scheduled up to 14 days in advance, and shoppers could include a list of the products they wanted to learn more about.

Dropping the service ahead of the holiday shopping season will likely free up staff to help with increased retail traffic. In-store employees will be able to offer shoppers product demonstrations, but customers won’t have the option of setting up a meeting time ahead of their visit.

[Thanks to ifoAppleStore for the heads up.]