http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheBoyGeniusReport/~3/8P6lRiv7U5U/
Sent to you by Bill Boulware via Google Reader: New Apple Store app
launches Thursday; here's how it will change Apple's retail operations
via BGR: The Three Biggest Letters In Tech by Jonathan S. Geller on
11/1/11
While information about Apple's new iOS app and retail plans have
leaked out in various forms over the past few weeks, we now have the
whole story thanks to a trusted source. On Thursday, Apple's new retail
store app for iOS will launch, and it will bring two major features
with it. First, it will enable online ordering with retail store pick
up. This has already started happening in a few stores in California
and New York City Apple stores as well, and more stores will go live on
Thursday. Hit the jump for details on what happens when you place an
order through the app to pick up in a retail store nearby.
- If a customer orders an in-stock product, pick up will be available
approximately 12 minutes after completing the order. Why 12 minutes?
Well, the order goes through the system to the designated Apple Store
in about 3 minutes. Apple's back-of-house employees have 2 minutes to
set all of the products aside on a shelf from the minute it was
ordered. There is then a 7-minute grace period for employees to get
everything else in order. Around 12 minutes after purchasing, customers
will be able to walk into the Apple Store, skip lines, skip registers,
get their products, sign for them and leave. We're told Apple is really
excited about this, and it's something customers have been seeking for
a while.
- If a customer orders something that a retail store does not have
in-stock, like a custom-configured machine, an accessory the store does
not carry, or something like an engraved or gift-wrapped device, the
customer will be a given a pick-up date right after the purchase is
completed. Everything will have free shipping when sent to an Apple
retail store. Once the order arrives at the Apple Store and is
available for pickup, a push notification will be sent to the customer
through the Apple Store app, letting him or her know the order is
ready. We're told the same 12-minute timeframe applies here as well: 12
minutes from the time the push notification is received, the customer's
order should be waiting to be signed for.
- We have been told customers who opt to purchase online or through the
app will be given priority when they walk into the store over a
customer waiting for a retail specialist, and that Apple expects the
majority of customers over the next few years to use the in-store pick
up option as their default method of buying products. This will help
with foot traffic in retail stores while also reducing the cost of
shipping for Apple, and possibly even reducing the number of stores
Apple needs to open to accommodate sales.
- Apple will offer customers the ability to return items purchased
online to retail stores.
- Lastly, we're told that Apple will be attributing revenue from items
purchased in this manner to the retail store where the items are
delivered and retrieved. This should help create new job opportunities
since hiring at Apple Stores is based on sales. Apple is reportedly
expecting a 30% increase in sales at retail stores from this program,
and it will only be available in the U.S. for now.
The other major feature coming in Apple's new app? Customer self
check-out at retail stores. This is a huge deal and Apple is the first
to be able to put it together. Here is how this will work: after you
find the item you want to buy, like an accessory, you launch the Apple
Store app on your iOS device and there will be an option to buy a
product in the store. You scan the product with the camera on your
device in the app, click purchase, and it will charge whatever credit
card is associated to your Apple ID. You then just walk out of the
store. Yes, we have been told that Apple will not be checking purchases
which seems hard to believe, but this self check-out option will launch
Thursday worldwide at all Apple retail stores.
Things you can do from here:
- Subscribe to BGR: The Three Biggest Letters In Tech using Google
Reader
- Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your
favorite sites
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire