Discover Products – It’s hard to imagine, but back in 2001, there were no iPhones, iPads, or Apple Watches. The stores acted as showcase vehicles for the Macintosh and the software therein. The open space and clean product displays allowed no-pressure browsing with staff their to answer questions when needed.
Demystify Products – For those who did not grow up with the original Apple Computers and/or early Mac computers, they were intimidating. 2001 was a PC (Microsoft) dominated world where it was just difficult to convince people to make the switch. While ad campaigns spoke about how seamless and easy to use Apple products were, it still did not translate into sales.
Enter the Apple Store and let’s “try before you buy.” The stores gave wary customers the opportunity to see how easy it was to plug in a camera and unload pictures, how quickly printers were added (no searching for drivers), and ultimately, how intuitive the computer’s operating system truly was.
Genius Bar – The kicker for the Apple Store was the concept of the Genius Bar. These “Universal” employees are not only there to act as technical support, but first and foremost are there to help onboard you as a new Apple customer, or at least as a new product user. They do this by offering classes or individual guidance on how to best use the product and take advantage of the key features that you, as the customer, need to know.