The smartest thing Apple is doing by holding classes is creating a standout customer experience. Nobody likes to be sold to. They are not selling to you. Everyone wants to be helped. They are there for you.
People crave excellent experiences. Shoppers associate that great experience with the product and it drives demand. Better yet, premium quality and priced demand. Core steps for omnichannel retail. Great lessons for us all!

Back in the early ’90s Apple had a big jump on the education market, but as the company began having challenges a few years later they lost ground to the competition. Today many schools use either PCs or have begun, most recently, using Google laptops. Apple still has a presence in schools but not like the ’90s. So providing learning opportunities in-store is very smart. Of course it’s not just the kids but also adults who want to learn how to use the many features and benefits Apple products provide. The biggest advantage is that Apple offers classes for free. So a customer is more inclined to purchase a product like their first iPad or computer knowing they will receive free training. Food stores have been providing cooking classes which are another great benefit, but most of the time there is a fee involved. Many retailers should think about how to educate the customer about the products they sell because it’s a great way to motivate them into making purchases. I could see home centers… Read more »

Apple is one of the retail success stories that stands in stark contrast to Amazon’s march to eat the rest of retail.

The strategy of holding a broader range of classes is significant in four ways:

1. It expands the customer experience that Apple uses to draw people to its stores;
2. It is hands-on marketing for new products and an opportunity to explain to customers why they need to upgrade;
3. Classes for teachers is pure genius … the teachers will take Apple back to the next wave of Apple customers in the classroom where Apple has been losing ground to Google;
4. The fourth reason might be the most significant of all. Stores need to attract superior talent who can create a differentiated customer experience.

By adding three more positions Apple expands the career path that it can use to attract and retain talent. There is a reason Apple has the lowest staff turnover in retail … and this the expanded career path is huge factor in this age where store talent can make all the difference.

As humans, we define ourselves more by what we experience, than by what we purchase. The root of shopping is community. Apple is applying these two principles in exactly the right way.

Let me get this out of the way in the beginning … I am not an Apple fanboy (gasp). With that being said, Angela Ahrendts is employing a smart strategy to drive repeat visits and enhance the customer experience through value-add classes that showcase the capabilities and inspire possibilities with Apple products and accessories. I think overall since Steve Jobs passed, consumer excitement has subsided a little and the pace of innovation has certainly slowed. So in order to reestablish a stronger emotional connection with its consumers, which has been its main competitive advantage in the past (technical superiority was never a strength), the Today at Apple initiative should be helpful. Will it materially impact sales? Likely not, but long-term it should help to maintain the relevance of the Apple brand, which I see fading in recent years on both the Education front (Chromebook) and consumer front (Surface Pro). With regards to the last question posed, other areas of retail have successfully employed this strategy in the past. For example, take Sur la Table, which… Read more »

This is already old material for operations like The Home Depot and Michaels. Apple could do this if they could cut the chaos inside their “stores” and use real trainers. I quit getting advice/training at the stores when I found that I was helping the Apple person more than they helped me. They also were not trained to train. There was no structure, with total rookies in a session and somewhat more advanced people. One person did not even know how to turn on the Mac — this was in an Aperture session. There is a bigger chance of a fail here than a win, unless they re-think it. Not all Apple store people are “smart.”

Yes, this will drive traffic and improve store performance. Apple continues to lead the way in transforming their locations from a “place to transact” to a “place to interact.” Dropping the “store” from the name, offering more structured education, and recognizing the contribution of their associates to the customer experience all represent important milestones on this journey.

Virtually EVERY retail category has something to share — whether it be fashion advice, cooking advice, advice on eating healthier, DIY project tips, or technology advice. It is absolutely shocking that more retailers don’t recognize this as an opportunity to drive traffic (and ultimately conversions).

In the long run, holding these classes strengthens their brand loyalty and draws consumers deeper into their community. It may not necessarily increase sales in the short term or draw in new customers, but ensures existing customers stay loyal once they see the need to upgrade their devices. Educating them in the various uses of Apple products is great for customer interaction and community development. Whether Ahrendts’ vision of a town square within the stores comes to fruition remains to be seen.

Apple is once again ahead of the curve or maybe more accurately coming back to something that they have done already and improving it. As stores become showrooms and malls become more about experiences as opposed to shopping, this is another great and “on brand” way to bring more people into the stores. They may purchase in store or online but education on products and more importantly how their products can help people achieve a goal or learn a new skill is powerful branding. I hope they continue to expand the curriculum and possibly expand the teaching online. I can see a place where an entire marketing campaign is aimed at this program as a way to drive store traffic. They are not the first to do this as other retailers like Williams-Sonoma, Whole Foods and Sephora also hold a lot of similar in store classes. As for the second question about other areas of retail where this could serve as a customer draw, there are some obvious ones like home improvement, cooking and beauty.… Read more »

Apple has been toying with this idea for some time now, with the notion of the Genius Bars when it first opened its stores. It’s a clever and needed idea for the simple fact that with the raft of new technologies here and on the way, Joe Public needs a way to keep up abreast of what he can do with them. And as the majority here have said, it only leads to stronger customer service and brand equity.