Neil Hughes
Brian White with Ticonderoga Securities sent a note to investors on Monday commenting on Apple's retail overhaul that debuted on Sunday. The Cupertino, Calif., company upgraded its stores and now utilizes iPad 2 units as interactive displays to provide product information, pricing and features.
White said he believes the introduction of iPads into the retail experience will take Apple's already highly successful stores "to the next level."
"Additionally, we believe this initiative will ultimately save Apple money, as the iPad 2 product displays can be refreshed much faster and cheaper versus printing, a concept that other retails could implement," he said.
White visited Apple's flagship Fifth Avenue store in New York City, where he said about 150 iPad 2 displays were already set up. In addition, some employees were also utilizing iPad 2 units, as employees have been equipped with new RetailMe software.
Apple Retail 2.0 display iPad | Source: leoleakey
Apple said in its most recent quarterly earnings report that it had 323 total stores at the end of the March quarter, with average revenue of $9.9 million per store, a year-over-year increase of 90 percent. The company expects to open 40 new stores in its fiscal year 2011, with nearly three-quarters of those stores located outside of the U.S.
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40 Comments
I think iPads are already being used by many businesses in this way.
I think iPads are already being used by many businesses in this way.
This provides a useful template for many more businesses, who may have been considering
iPads but needed a little nudge from Apple.
of the capabilities of upcoming cloud services.
They're a little confusing. It's not readily apparent that you can touch the little "feature" pictures on the device to bring up more information. No indication that the little "Core i7" photo is actually a button.
And the iPad table is swamped with the things, one for each iPad. Hard to tell which one is the display, and which one is the product on display. (grin)
I think iPads are already being used by many businesses in this way.
I've seen iPads in many high-end restaurants in Manhattan, as well as a couple in southern Connecticut. It's almost always the wine list they use the iPad for. I love mine, but this seems like overkill. Maybe not...but it definitely surprised me the first few times. After that I just shrugged. I'll admit it does make finding wine a bit easier, and the waiter doesn't have to stand there to tell you about each bottle. We always end up asking him anyway, but maybe it has cut their costs. Or maybe it's trendy. We'll see. I checked for angry birds one time and...no dice.