Apple's empty stores

[Lankyman]

Three times in the past few weeks I have visited an Apple store, two in large retail outlets and one in a city centre. The first thing that has hit me on each occasion is how quiet the stores were. Sure there were people in there, but only a few short months ago these stores were packed with customers. Not any more, on my visit today there were more staff than customers.

I can't help wondering if the lack of meaningful new product releases recently is being reflected by a drop in customers visiting the stores?

Let's be honest we all like going into a store to look at the latest and greatest. However, if there's nothing new to look at then you are likely to give it a miss.

 

[cookiesnfooty]

That may be the situation where you live, however in my nearest large City the stores are always jam packed full!...

 

[Jessica Lares]

It's summer. Those guys are probably at the festivals.

Our Apple Stores are getting harder to just stand around to be honest. It's very cramped up with products everywhere.

 

[Daysight]

In two Canadian cities recently, both Apple stores very busy.

 

[blakek]

most of the time in England the stores don't have appointments for days

i'd say its just your local store or a random few days that you are seeing this

 

[roadbloc]

I avoid Apple stores. Always filled with greasy people doing nothing much in particular but killing time at an Apple Store.

 

[Tyler23]

Three times in the past few weeks I have visited an Apple store, two in large retail outlets and one in a city centre. The first thing that has hit me on each occasion is how quiet the stores were. Sure there were people in there, but only a few short months ago these stores were packed with customers. Not any more, on my visit today there were more staff than customers.

I can't help wondering if the lack of meaningful new product releases recently is being reflected by a drop in customers visiting the stores?

Let's be honest we all like going into a store to look at the latest and greatest. However, if there's nothing new to look at then you are likely to give it a miss.

I've been to Apple stores in 3 states (US) and one other country (Spain, Barcelona) in the past few months. Every one was completely packed. Was at one during the day, the others in the evening.

Perhaps you went during the day, when most people are at work? Anyways, seems that Apple Stores are still pretty packed.

 

[63dot]

I live in a town with Apple Store in perhaps smallest town that Apple would consider with fewer than 30,000 people. The store is never packed since that would mean the whole city is out and about. What I like about an Apple store that is not frequented too much is that it is clean and not thrashed and always looks like it just opened up last week. The nearby Apple stores in bigger cities are packed but they look dirty and disorganized as would anywhere with so much foot traffic. I know Apple is doing well for themselves and probably sell mostly online. As long as I visit my small town Apple store to check out new products, I know I can just walk up to it and play around with it as long as I want to. Everything works as it's supposed to and no keys are missing on the keyboard and it doesn't look like you will get a new disease from touching it.

I don't like packed and thusly thrashed stores of any type. The one and only time this town was truly packed was the Monterey Pop Festival and some people thought it was nifty to break store windows and set stuff on fire to protest the Vietnam war. Some stores and gas stations made a killing so it was good for somebody. It wasn't so much the war but when you have that many young people crammed into such a small town, sh** happens. Decades later when they brought in the Dead, town got trashed again and you can't blame hippies per se because the whole thing got messed up with rumors of Creed playing at a Christian festival. I don't know if they showed up but everybody religious and secular came down to check that one out.

 

[heehee]

I bought 2 laptops the other day. I knew what specs I needed and all they had to do was bring it out from the back room. Had to wait 35 minutes for a staff because the store was packed and I was 15 in line.

I was not happy and wrote to my business account manager.

 

[LV426]

Wait until the iPhone 6 is released. Then you won't get anywhere near a UK Apple store without fighting your way through crowds of 'scalpers'.

Since it's unlikely I'll be upgrading to an iPhone 6 this year, I might amuse myself when the time comes by doing a bit of candid street photography.

 

[JackieInCo]

I quit going to the Apple store to buy anything because of the long wait times.

I mostly buy now at MicroCenter or BestBuy or at Apple.com.

 

[Lankyman]

most of the time in England the stores don't have appointments for days

i'd say its just your local store or a random few days that you are seeing this

You may not have noticed that I said 3 stores in different geographical locations.

Tyler23 asks if I visited during the day. Yes I did, as I always do, so the conditions were the same as usual. In fact with many children having started the school holidays they should have been buzzing.

Simply an observation.

 

[maflynn]

I went to apple store earlier this week to buy a new case, and found it empty. Of course it was like 20 minutes before the mall closed.

All things being equal, most of the time I go to the apple store its busy. Some locations are crazy busy. I went to one mall that I don't usually frequent and you couldn't even get into the store it was so full.

Summer time is also a very slow time for retailers, especially computer stores. I used to work in one and found that summer is very slow.

 

[JackieInCo]

I went to apple store earlier this week to buy a new case, and found it empty. Of course it was like 20 minutes before the mall closed.

All things being equal, most of the time I go to the apple store its busy. Some locations are crazy busy. I went to one mall that I don't usually frequent and you couldn't even get into the store it was so full.

Summer time is also a very slow time for retailers, especially computer stores. I used to work in one and found that summer is very slow.

That's when I would generally try to go was that last thirty minutes before closing. Just a handful of people there.