Apple stores were the most profitable
retail stores per square foot in 2017,
beating out brands like
Tiffany and Lululemon.
Other stores have tried
to copy the formula,
but these feel like imitation
rather than innovation.
Apple stores are a core
part of Apple's brand
and of spreading that brand.
Tim Cook: Our stores are also
the best place to go discover,
explore, and experience our new products.
Narrator: An Apple store
is an Apple paradise,
and anyone walking by can see this utopia,
because most Apple stores
have big glass walls.
Jim Mourey: When they
see that other people
are inside engaging with the product,
there's this general
social desire to belong.
Narrator: That's Jim Mourey.
He teaches marketing at DePaul University.
Mourey: And so there's this FOMO, like,
"fear of missing out" quality
of wanting to go inside
and see what the new thing
happens to be at the store.
Narrator: And once customers
get into the store,
they tend to stick around,
because Apple stores are just plain cool.
Each store's design is as sleek
and modern as Apple's products.
The flagship stores even
double as tourist destinations.
Each one is like a beacon,
with multiple floors, indoor trees,
and incredible architecture.
Apple stores wow customers with
more than just the products
and the stores are filled with visual cues
that get the customer's attention.
You can see every shiny
new model on display.
After the using the iPhone 11,
you know exactly how much better it is
than your old iPhone 7.
Mourey: Once people have
their hands on something,
they're more likely to purchase it.
As soon as they feel some sense
of ownership of the product,
they actually value it more
once it's in their possession.
Narrator: And this adds a
reason to go to the store.
Even if you're not planning
on buying anything.
You can go just to play
with the new products.
Mourey: The longer you
keep people in the store,
the more likely they are to buy something.
Angela Ahrendts: They're
carefully curated,
and they change seasonally
to always feature
our newest products and services.
Mourey: There's this notion
of the pain of paying.
When we know we're in an expensive store,
the more we can sort of
mitigate that feeling of pain,
by, like, maybe hiding the price
tags and the sticker shock,
the better off we are.
Narrator:  Mourey explained
that when you feel
that a price is unfair,
you actually have more
activity in your amygdala,
a part of your brain that
processes emotional pain.
Mourey: You can almost imagine
it as like a, you know,
a plus and a minus,
and if the plus outweighs the minus,
then I'm more likely to purchase it.
Narrator:  In an Apple store,
the price tags are very small.
So even though the products are expensive,
you're not thinking about the price.
Good for the amygdala.
There's also an aspirational
quality to Apple's products.
With Apple devices,
loyal customers feel like they're getting
the best of the best.
There are no giant "sale"
or "clearance" stickers
that devalue the products,
and the staff makes
customers feel important
by showing individualized attention.
Mourey: We want to make
the happy experience
and the ease, the convenience
as great as possible
and minimize that inconvenience
or that pain of paying
as much as possible.
Narrator: It turns out Apple
is really good at this.
When it's time to check out,
there's no line and no cash register.
Painless.
The phone you've been playing with
for the past 20 minutes is now yours.
And you told yourself you weren't planning
on buying anything.
In the last few years,
Apple has created even more
reason to go to an Apple store,
adding free classes called Today at Apple
on topics like photography and coding.
These classes are also
a part of Apple's vision
for its stores as a part of the community.
Ahrendts: We call them town squares
because they're gathering places.
Narrator: But the Apple store utopia
might not be as glorious as
it looks from the outside.
In the past year,
there have been reports of customers
facing long wait times
and overcrowded stores.
Customers and reporters
have lamented the loss
of the seamless Apple store.
Apple might have to
rethink its retail strategy
if it wants to maintain
the store's reputation.
Ultimately, Apple wants its stores
to have a positive
impact on its customers.
When it gets it right, it makes
spending money really easy.
