All that nightly news footage that shows what a zoo your local Apple Store is during any major product launch? That’s not as good for Apple as it seems, and Apple execs want to change things up. The Apple Stores are handsomely designed icons of retail, but Apple retail head Angela Ahrendts actually wants the stores less crowded, not more. Insiders have long known that the most efficient way to get new Apple products is to order online, but Apple has made the retail store experience so sleekly aspirational that some customers just don’t get full satisfaction out of clicking their order online. They want the full Apple–not just the virtual one.
But Business Insider reports that Ahrendts sent a memo to Apple employees encouraging them to push customers to online ordering–especially when it comes to the Apple Watch and new MacBooks. It’ll do two things. One it makes for more efficient customer service for Apple, with easier delivery logistics, etc. Second, if there aren’t big lines at Apple Stores for the heavily promoted Apple Watch when it launches, Apple can control the narrative–and claim that’s exactly how they want it!
