Just over four months since the Apple Watch began its Apple Retail Store debut for try-ons, Apple has started to tweak the process this week, according to Apple Retail employees. Until this week, a customer who walked into an Apple Store seeking to try on Apple Watch was required to make an appointment and provide details such as their name and Apple ID to an Apple Store employees.
For this week forward, Apple Stores are speeding up the try-on process by dropping the former appointment requirement and not requiring potential customers to share their information with the store employee. Now, a customer can simply walk into an Apple Store and try on an Apple Watch without any delay, except if all of the Apple Watch try on areas are occupied by customers who arrived earlier.
Customers will still be able to provide their email address and the types of Apple Watches that they tried on, allowing for their preferences to be saved to their Apple Online Store wish list. For example, a user could try on a Space Black Apple Watch and be reminded of their selection when they go to purchase the model from the Apple Store app or website.
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I bought mine at the Apple Store at Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton CA on July 21st by just walking in with no appointment. I did not have to provide anything, just tried it on and bought it.
I can understand it. It’s being said that hardly any consumers are buying AppleWatches so there’s no need to have all those requirements. They had all those requirements when they Apple thought the product was going to be a successful one with high demand. That hope is long gone and likely the price of all models will see huge cuts just to get rid of inventory. What was Apple thinking? Hardly anyone wants smartwatches of any type.
I want a smartwatch; but not one that cost as much as a Moto X Pure which is a flagship device. $250 tops is what I will pay and that’s on the high end.
Okay, good for you.
Except for those 2 million or so they sold in the last quarter, when supplies and access were limited. Other than that, no one.
I saw several in the wild going to and from work today on the CalTrain. I think sales will be slow and steady.
Stop! You’re ruining his narrative!
I’ve seen several at m work as well. There was a large gathering behind my desk last week of people checking out a coworkers Apple Watch.
I’m on the fence because I don’t wear a watch now because it’s a pain to take off when working out or playing sports, plus my phone gets the job done for keeping time.
I’ll try the Apple Watch but it’s not up high on my list. For Tech products a new MacBook Pro is higher up on my wish list .
Who knows, I might fall in love with it after trying it out. I remember how sceptical I was of macs before I bought my first MBA. The next day all I think about was how great a device that it was .
The Watch is made for fitness, so I’ve never taken it off while working out and it’s great while running because now you don’t have to fiddle with your phone while running!!
I still haven’t played with one. Just know not to buy 1st gen so why bother wasting my time. I’ll see it when iphone 6s comes out.
Dude, no one is on pins and needles to know if you’ve tried one on or how über-important your time is. Besides, you just said you would not pay more than $250 for a watch. Now you’re moving the goal post.
Makes sense. At Best Buy there was no appointment or info required to try on the Apple Watch.
Here in Australia, there only ever seemed to be need to have an appointment if super busy. I had been into the Apple store multiple times in the lead up to actually buying the watch and every single time it was offered to try one on.
They need to market the watch harder. I did not know until I read this article that you could try them on before you bought them. a few coworkers have Apple Watches but seeing theirs is not the same as messing with it myself.
Are you serious? How could you even possibly think you can not try them on in any Apple Store?
Instead of dropping the appointment requirement, Apple should drop the price!
Why? You’ll just complain it’s still too expensive and inform us of how you’re not going to buy one.
A strap that cost £500 costing more than the actual watch itsself is ridiculous. This takes the ‘Apple tax’ to a whole new level most people who have a reasonable budget can see this. Me and as it turns out a lot of other people clearly see it the same way. I own apple products but I’m no fan boy!
I made an appointment, saw it, got a demo and placed my order. The Watch arrived three weeks later. I have now owned it and loved every second of it for over a month. I really enjoy the convenience of being reminded to stand up every hour because I know the dangers of prolonged sitting. I like how the Watch has heightened my awareness of my body movement and how it clocks my walks with my dog. She now gets at least a half mile walk each time compared with a random foray before the Watch. I ride my bike daily and am thrilled that I can answer my phone while riding by simple tapping the Watch face. I don’t have to stop and try to dig out my phone from my cycling jersey before the call goes to voicemail. I don’t text much, but I can see how it makes texting much more user friendly, too. Very happy with my purchase.
So, was this an experiment that went badly, or was it done out of necessity because of a severely restricted supply masquerading as a “new way” of doing business?
The entire process was snobbery gone wild. Apple is NOT Cartier Angela. She is so out of touch with the Apple core customer. Given what they paid her, I suspect they have to live with her now. The idea that a customer walking in had to sign up and wait for someone to come over to pull out that silly pad is just insipid.