If you’ve been following Apple very closely over the past few years, you might’ve noticed that the company currently operates more than 500 physical stores globally. The look for those stores can vary widely, from building features a 186-foot curved storefront and balcony overlooking the world’s tallest skyscraper Burj Khalifa to an amazing “floating sphere” that sits on the water in the city’s Marina Bay Sands Singapore. The tech giant co-founded by Steve Jobs has aimed to ensure that the appearance of the store is just as fascinating to customers as the company is confident the products inside will be.
While the breathtaking design of an architectural side of an Apple store is intentionally different from one another, have you noticed that nowadays their interior side tends to shape a similar concept? What’s the story behind that setup? Or is It Just a perfect coincidence? Well, that’s exactly what we’re going to find out!
Back in 2014, Tim Cook hired Angela Ahrendts as the company’s new Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores. She began implementing ideas to not only make it easier to buy products but also make it easier to learn about products. No wonder if you’ve recently been to any of Apple’s retail stores, you’ll find out the interior side no longer give you the look of a casual product display area. It’s already leveled up to perfect exclusive space!. You’ve probably seen a huge screen at the back with a bunch of wooden cubes to sit on. That’s a relatively new area that Apple added when Angela Ahrendts was in charge of the stores.
Nowadays Apple stores around the world were designed to be the perfect area to hold workshops, which Apple has been giving at their retail stores for quite some time. This new concept created a welcoming environment for people who may not even know what the presentation is about. Someone may’ve stopped by to check out the latest iPhone, but then sat down and stuck around to learn about making music with the iPad.
Apple wanted to make the retail experience more seamless, convenient, and quick. You walk into the store, and a concierge directs you to your Genius Bar appointment right away. Or they might direct you to a product you’re interested in, you could try out that product, talk to an associate to learn more, and then make the purchase directly from them, without having to wait in a line to checkout with a cashier. This allowed customers to get in and out of the store quicker than ever. A brilliant concept that brings this amazing atmosphere to Apple stores around the word, is a program that so-called “Today at Apple”.
Currently, Today at Apple grew to offer 250,000 sessions per quarter attended by millions of people. When COVID-19 put in-store sessions on hold, Today at Apple responded not with defeat, but with an online program that supported artists and connected communities across the world at a deeper level than anyone’s store could accomplish on its own. Through virtual live events, hands-on activities, and immersive online guides, creatives were given a toolkit to emerge from lock down life inspired to make a difference.
Debut once a week, “Today at Apple”online session with the series of Creative Project available for free, so make sure you grab the experience of this amazing program through their Youtube channel. Enjoy!
