Apple Revolutionizing Retail

conq writes "BusinessWeek has an interesting blog entry on Apple's 'iPod Express table', where they streamline the sale of iPods in their store. From the article: 'But the best part was that the Apple Geniuses behind the table had wireless gizmos for scanning credit cards, and Apple had worked out a totally wireless, paperless checkout process, called EasyPay. Once scanned, they advise you that the receipt will be in your inbox within an hour (since I'm already a registered Apple customer, they didn't even need to take my email or other information).'"

Doesn't bother me

[Amouth]

I know it should but apple doesn't seem like the company that i would worrie about doing this.. they seem to do things right and treat their customers with respect..

Honestly i like the idea.. it seems like a great way of doing biz

streamline?

[engagebot]

I will say i've never been in a brick-and-mortar apple store (not one in my area), but is it really cumbersome enough trying to buy something from them that they need a specific 'express lane' for buying ipods?

Security of CC number

[ibennetch]

So how secure is the encryption? I'm not sure I want my credit card number floating around in the clear, and while I imagine Apple did it right, the article mentions that he thinks this should be the future of all business transactions. I don't trust the local mom&pop bookstore to have their encryption together. On the other hand, if it's going to be some black-box solution that's actually set up right out of the box, it's kind of idiot proof, no?

The idea of having no reciept until I get home doesn't bother me, although what happens if they enter the email address wrong for new customers? A mis-type of the associate and all of a sudden you can't return your new toy if it doesn't work?

That's the way to do it!!

[Aaron32]

It's great to see that someone is finally doing it right!

The key to success is to make it extremely easy for your customers to do business with you. Get 'em in, get what they need, and check 'em out. Happy customers = high profits.

I am very impatient when it comes to poor customer service. I have walked across the street to another electronics store when some stupid clerk said "Uh, only one guy has the key to the hard drive cabinet, and he's not around right now."

See ya... taking my business elsewhere then.

Hell of an idea.

[shadowkin]

Make it so someone picks one up, and is checked out and gone within a few minutes. Less time for them to be standing there thinking about the purchase, therefore more likely for them to make the buy on an impulse.

That's all good and well but...

[NCTRNAL]

I have to admit, Apple has it so right when it comes to customer astonishment. Unlike a certain competitor that is located at a certain Pacific Northwest location, Apple listens to what people wants and delivers something even better than what was asked of them. Microsoft makes it one way and forces you to live by their standards. Sorry, but I have to go with Apple every time

Not so new

[cvd6262]

Apple Geniuses behind the table had wireless gizmos for scanning credit cards

WOW! Re-vo-lu-tion! You mean like the ones waiters in Europe have been using for *ages*?

It's actually kind of nice because they do not take your credit card back to the register. They swipe it at your table and hand it back to you.

Re:Apple Stores

[tpgp]

Apple Stores seem to always get it right in general. I'm talking about the official Apple Stores here.

Hmmmn,

I think maybe that the Ipod Express tables did not work out quite as well as expected [ifoapplestore.com]

the iPod Express purchase counters were marginally implemented, while the portable check-out devices rated even lower on a useability scale.

Sounds like these are about as user-friendly as quicktime is (if you want to use other media players as well)

As plenty of others in this thread have pointed out, the genius bars (god what a horrible name) are no longer as fast or friendly as your rose-tinted memories.

This would make me nervous

[Lxy]

I have a problem with leaving the store without a receipt. E-mail isn't the most reliable medium ever, and a simple mistype in your e-mail address means you don't get the receipt for your product.

There are other ways of verifying purchase, but nothing beats having a paper receipt when returning/exchanging items. Especially if it's a gift for someone.

Re:Hackable?

[DECS]

Yes, panic because WPA might be snooped, recorded and the encryption hammered off at an off site super computer by a l33t haxxor.

Or you can panic because, for the last 40 years, paper copies of your credit card transactions, with your signature, card number, exp date and purchase details, have always been available to the legions of underpaid service people who handle your retail/resturant/telephone purchases. Carbon copies were often left in the trash.

Seriously, if you think introducing wireless technology to the credit card transaction is opening things up for fraud, you are seriously shroomin. It's already fantastically easy to obtain your information.

But it is entertaining to hear such panic mongering from someone who has undoubtedly made telephone credit card purchases, and we all know how secure the POTS network is.

Back on-topic

[ackthpt]

the main drawback of iTunes Music Store and the like today: many popular acts are simply not available. Good luck finding The Beatles or Metallica anywhere but at your local brick-and-mortar CD store, for instance.

Well, with Apple running a smooth retailing operation to accelerate the growth in iPod sales the numbers will exert pressure on music companines to finally make things available. As soon as the RIAA goons figure out that everyone they want to be in bed with has no real answers or competition for the iPod they'll have to give in. At the worst they'll still take a try or two at some horrendous marketing model which falls flat on its face, while delaying the inevitable.

Re:Security of CC number

[BreadMan]

>> I'm not sure I want my credit card number floating around in the clear

Hand it to the waiter, and you have your card with all of the security numbers printed thereon in the clear. I'm not defending Apple's system, just pointing out that parties interested in getting your credit card information can do so with better fidelity and ease than attempting to break into a POS (point of sale) system.

Re:This would make me nervous

[ProZachar]

There's also the problem of store security. If the cashier fails to deactivate any anti-shoplifting devices and I trigger them as I walk out of the store, how am I supposed to prove that I paid for it?

That's why I always get a paper receipt when I pay-at-the-pump for gasoline.

Re:Doesn't bother me

[timster]

Comedians, obviously, never file expense reports.

Re:Bah

[Golias]

If you don't like the way that they do business, just fuck right off out of the store. You don't have to be there in the first fucking place! Nobody will give a shit, least of all Apple, but you can feel like you've made your stand if you really want to.

What's all this about making a stand?

I was just expressing an opinion. Gosh, sorry if my annoyance with Apple's check-out procedures challenged your religion or something.

I'll never complain about anything ever again, no matter how asinine it is, especially where Apple retail outlets are concerned. Will that make you happy? Can I go back to having a right to exist again?

My head a splode!

[rickla]

It shouldn't bother me but it still irritates me when I read articles about apple "inventing" something else. This isn't even apple's fault, it's just the odd fanbase they have. I am not sure what's different here. You pay with a credit card and get no paper receipt. That's better? And wireless, how does that help the customer? For all I know my local walmart's card reader is wireless, who knows, who cares? Anyway in my state (and most others) it would be illegal to make a sale without a paper receipt with the return policy also give out.

Many folks missing the point

[rabidlemur]

You don't have to use the EasyPay - it's an option. If you want to pay w/ cash, or split tender, or use a discount(education, company, etc.), then wait at the register. If you wanna by an ipod cable, ipod, or 1 small item, use the EasyPay and get 5 minutes of your life back. As far as reciepts go, if you must have a paper copy, you gotta wait. Deal. Heck, any apple product is registered when sold, so the reciept is more useful for returns, but unneeded for service. And yeah, the units are Symbol's running Windows Mobile. Sick sad world, neh? They're also using a standalone encrypted wireless network.

Missing the point

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, 200 years ago George Washington's personal information could've been intercepted when he wrote a letter to his friend. Sure, carbon copies were left in the trash. And yes, I can tap a POTS line pretty easy and listen in.

However, TODAY there is a huge difference: the data mining is becoming completely automatic. I could theoretically drop up a battery-powered box at the apple store behind a display, let it pluck thousands of credits cards out of the air while I get a blow job, then come back at the end of the day. Heck, I could wirelessly download the data, then instruct the box to erase itself. Hell, I could set this up on ONE OF THEIR DISPLAY COMPUTERS!

This is a huge problem now, and it will get even bigger. You don't have to panic, but if you don't worry about this a little bit you'll have to pay for it one way or another.. wasted time, lost money, spoiled credit report, etc.

We live in a world were billions of dollars can move with the click of a mouse and most information security is pathetic. Do the math, as they say...

Re:Can't they just guess

[marc_gerges]

the most you're probably going to get is one a year; you really don't need everything to be completely streamlined.

Apple plans to sell considerably more than one a year, so they may be very pleased with everything being completely streamlined.

Obviously I haven't read the article, but I wonder how good an emailed receipt is - will my spam filter trash it, can I use it to declare theft with my insurance company etc.

I'm spending my days helping people getting their transactions and processes optimized with the help of computer systems, so I admire this concept. But there's the old saying about paperless offices making about as much sense as paperless toilets...

Re:Hackable?

[elgatozorbas]

But it is entertaining to hear such panic mongering from someone who has undoubtedly made telephone credit card purchases, and we all know how secure the POTS network is.

You seem to be quite confident in your assumptions about a person you have probably never met before.

I understand him completely and would rather not see my personal info emerging everywhere, being transmitted wirelessly and especially, if I make a purchase, I would like it to end then and there: pay in cash (or electronically, so be it), but DON'T promise to send me e-mails afterwards, because if you don't, I can't prove anything. I would rather not rely on _whatever_ should happen after I leave the store.

Re:Not so new

[njh]

Oh, is that all they're talking about?! The US seems about 20 years behind when it comes to money related technologies... They probably still use cheques too!

Re:Not so new

[droleary]

Except that I already have a PC that is faster than the iMac. Even if I didn't, it would be a lot cheaper to upgrade it (new MB, CPU and RAM), than buy an Apple product.

So what? The issue you raised is not one of tricking out an old PC, but buying a new computer from a system builder. It doesn't matter if that builder is Dell or Apple, you were the one who mistakenly thought an entry-level machine would suit the needs of a movie production studio (however amateur your home movies might be :-).

The question has to do with the software - the iMac comes with sw that has good reviews. I'm willing to pay extra for a turn key experience, but not $1000+ for conventional video editing.

Nothing about video editing is very conventional as of yet. I'd say maybe in 5 years, but by then HD will be increasingly common and that means even more resources will be required to manipulate it, so maybe 10 years out is a better target for a budget system that does what you want. Come on, are you seriously bitching about a machine preferring over 512MB RAM when editing video? How fast do you expect the Mac mini's HD to be doing all that swapping? It's like you're blaming Apple because you have absolutely no concept of the amount of data you want to push around.

With the exception of one person, they evidently figured I was a subhuman PC user from the start, so why waste time not getting the expected ritualistic acknowledgement of the self-annointed...

You deserved it. You clearly came in convinced in what you needed and refusing to accept that you could be wrong. Even in your telling of the story you come out looking like a prick, so I wager in the impartial version you were such a huge ass they couldn't wait to get out of the store. Don't blame Apple because you're intent on being a bad customer. They did the right thing and it is up to you to prove them wrong by buying a PC setup elsewhere that can do what you want for less money. Good luck with that.