Apple Retail Boss Ahrendts Wants You to Buy the Watch Online, Not in Stores

Written by DH Kass 1
April 7, 2015

Apple retail boss Angela Ahrendts told staffers that starting with the Watch, a “significant change in mindset” is in the works for how the vendor kicks off sales of new products.

You know those iconic images of Apple (AAPL) customers camping out overnight at storefronts and waiting in line for hours to buy the latest iPhone?

Fahgettaboudit. That’s done, a thing of the past, that is if Apple retail guru Angela Ahrendts’ plan for selling its impending Watch works as she reportedly has detailed to employees.

According to a Business Insider report, Ahrendts has told staffers that starting with the Watch, a “significant change in mindset” is in the works for how the vendor kicks off sales of new products. And, Apple’s new thinking isn’t just confined to the Watch but also extends to its new 12-inch Macbook as well.

“The days of waiting in line and crossing fingers for a product are over for our customers,” Ahrendts wrote in a memo to Apple Store staffers. “The Apple Store app and our online store make it much easier to purchase Apple Watch and the new MacBook. Customers will know exactly when and where their product arrives,” she said.

“This is a significant change in mindset, and we need your help to make it happen,” Ahrendts wrote. “Tell your customers we have more availability online, and show them how easy it is to order. You’ll make their day.”

Still, shoppers walking into an Apple Store expecting to try on and purchase a Watch on the spot are going to be disappointed. The various Watch models will be housed in a glass enclosure set in a table top, which means the wearable device won’t be displayed on stands or tethered to a base with a secure chain. That’s part of Apple’s sales approach for the Watch–customers without a prior appointment made online won’t be able to show up at an Apple Store to try one on and won’t be able to walk out the door with one in tow.

The vendor’s strategy is to encourage customers to go to stores to try out the device but do the actual buying part online, if only to save shoppers the potential disappointment of insufficient in-store inventory.

Beginning this Friday, April 10, Apple employees at some 400 outlets worldwide will start helping shoppers pre-order the Watch at try-on appointments.

Starting on April 10 and running through June 8, those same Apple staffers and all company employees will be able to buy the Apple Watch aluminum sport and stainless steel models at a 50 percent discount, Tim Cook, Apple chief executive, wrote in an internal memo obtained by 9to5Mac.

“I know that many of you have been looking forward to choosing an Apple Watch for yourselves, and we want to make it easy for you,” Cook wrote. “Starting Friday, in countries where the watch is available for pre-order, a special Employee Purchase Plan will offer a 50% discount on any Apple Watch or Apple Watch Sport for your personal use.”