Apple To Customers: Stay Out Of Stores On Launch Day?

By Matt Pillar, chief editor

A “leaked” memo from Apple Retail Chief Angela Ahrendts to Apple store associates made the rounds this week, inciting all sorts of speculation among retail, tech, and business analysts. The memo, first reported by Business Insider on April 7, included this little snippet from Ahrendts, which sent press and pundits into a tizzy:

Get in line online

The days of waiting in line and crossing fingers for a product are over for our customers. 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.

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

At the heart of the hype is this far-too-introspective question: Why would Ahrendts and Apple, having invested so much in 450-plus worldwide brick-and-mortar stores and the customer experience those stores create, lay down such an overt directive to send customers online?

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