The Psychology of the Apple Store And Why It Makes You Buy Things
It’s all about micro trust; there’s method behind the minimalism
Walk into any Apple store; immediately you’ll notice there’s something different to the restless buzz of high-street retail.
Stripped back walls, open counter displays, wall-hanging plants, mahogany surfaces, large atriums filled with natural light…
It’s a calming place. A slice of solace.
Tinkering music, light conversation; the famous glass staircases (patented by the late, great, Steve Jobs), pointing skyward.
An ocean of serenity.
You almost forget you’re in a commercial environment, you almost forget you‘re even in a store.
It feels more like a gallery, it puts you at ease.
2017 was declared the year of retail apocalypse, but despite expert forecasting; brick and mortar retailers have seen a drastic revival in the last two years.
Starbucks is a perfect example — they recently closed their online store and instead began focusing on redirecting people to their nearest store.
Nordstrom is another classic example of the evolution of brick and mortar. They have recently opened stores called Nordstrom Local that don’t have any merchandise.
Instead, you can grab a coffee or a cocktail, visit a manicure bar or sit down with a stylist. After that conversation, you can then have items delivered to the store based on what you like. This is a company that says most of its new customers still come from their beauty department, which drives traffic to the entire shop.
Essentially, successful retail now hinges on creating an atmosphere or an experience for potential customers.
And arguably the Apple stores have the most intelligent store experience, the most emotional architecture of all the retail giants.
In many ways Apple kick-started retail 2.0; they started the wave of creating a genuinely relaxed in-store experience, a sales-free, pressure-free place to relax and absorb.
In any given Apple store across the world; the first thing that will strike you, when you’re done gawping at the hundreds of shiny screened devices, is that there isn’t an obvious place to pay.
In fact, there’s no checkout to be seen. None whatsoever.
And here’s the reason why:
It’s something called the step psychology.
And Apple utilise it brilliantly in their stores.
But what is the step psychology?
Before I explain, lets rewind.
In most retail environments, especially pre-Apple Store, it was typical to allow a customer to browse before being approached by a sales rep who would try to offer their expertise on the product or service, and eventually push for a sale.
This worked to an extent.
But in the Apple Store, they try to bridge the trust gap between customer and sales rep by creating a step, a middle step of trust.
So suddenly, the gap from sheer stranger to person you must trust to part with your hard earned money, is brought much, much closer.
The cognitive dissonance is reduced.
There’s a reason that Apple are so particular with the qualities and characteristics they look for in an employee; any Apple store specialists needs to be approachable, real-world and enthused by the product set; usually an advocate for the brand.
Any Specialist (the term for shop floor Apple employees) must be able to create a micro-friendship, a moment of acceptance and conversation that feels so comfortable that the gap between stranger and sale is made much, much smaller.
And, if the sale isn’t closed in store, not to worry.
The interaction will only have shined a brighter light onto the product in question and created positive reinforcement between the potential new customer and the Apple brand; which can only bolster the chances of a sale later down the line.
In short, there’s a lot of thinking that goes into the unseen at the Apple stores; the layout, the decor, the pressure free environment; it’s all done to induce a sense of trust, relaxation and positive reinforcement that draws new customers in and keeps old ones coming back for more, much more.
There’s a reason they’re a trillion dollar company, there’s method beneath the minimalism.
Peace.
RMH
