Apple Stores: How Crowded Are They?

Here are a couple interesting graphs from Gary Allen, who covers Apple's (AAPL) retail business at ifoapplestore.com like a spandex body suit.

The first, published last year in a post entitled "Fighting the Congestion," drew from the company's quarterly reports to draw a picture of rapidly growing traffic in Apple's retail spaces (with a big spike in 2005 representing holiday sales).

At the time, June 2006, this was considered a potential problem. "At Apple’s HQ," Allen wrote, "the talk is all about how crowded the stores have become and how to keep the service level high despite the lingering crowds." Allen conducted an informal survey and found that 60% of the people standing at the display counters were using them to conduct personal business, not checking out the features of the hardware and software. Since then, Apple has cracked down a bit, blocking MySpace visits and restricting Internet access on selected display units. But it has mostly hewed to Steve Jobs' original vision of the stores as public spaces where people are encouraged to play with the toys on display for as long as they like.

Now Allen has taken a second look at the congestion issue and determined that maybe it's not so bad after all. In a graph posted over the weekend, he uses Apple's quarterly reports to make the case that the number of visitors per store fluctuates within a fairly predicable range. He writes:

According to Apple, the number of visitors has increased from 2.1 million in the third quarter of 2002, to 21.9 million in the same quarter of 2007. But at the same time, the average number of open stores has also increased, from 30 in Q3 2002 to 180 in the same quarter of 2007. Based on those figures, the number of per-store visitors has remained fairly stable lately, within a narrow range of from 112,000 to 126,000 visitors per quarter.

This assumes, however, that those customers are evenly distributed among the Apple stores. Based on the comments Allen has received, not everyone is convinced. One reader reports that the Apple outlet in the Burlington Mall near my hometown of Lexington, Mass., is often nearly empty. My experiences at Apple stores in New York and San Francisco are more like this Minnesota reader's:

Try visiting the Rosedale Center (MN) store on the weekends. It’s shoulder to shoulder crowded, and so loud from people talking you’d think you were in a nightclub. To top that off one Saturday I counted 5 one-to-one lessons being held (with no Studio, so they sit along the walls that have demo computers) and the Genius Bar three deep with the next available appointment 4 -hours- out, and every available salesperson occupied, and the line to the cash registers 8 people long. In a store the size of Rosedale that means people were lined up to buy things and the line stretched nearly halfway through the store.

Of course, there are worse fates for a retailer than having too much traffic in their stores. A couple readers reported that a Sony store located just above or below their crowded Apple outlet was almost empty.

Comments

[Matt]

I live nearby in Waltham, MA and I don't think I can remember a single time I've been to the Burlington Mall and seen the Apple Store "empty", even at 9pm on a weeknight. But, with so many stores in the Boston area (we're up to atleast 5 within 30 minutes of the city), I can see why compared to some stores in large cities or areas where there are fewer stores (like MINN?), it would seem empty. It'll be interesting to see what the crowds are like when they open the downtown Boston store.

[Bob]

I don't know when your Lexington correspondent visited the Burlington store, but whenever I've been there (every month or two) it has been anywhere from busy to crowded. You should consider collecting more than one data point before writing.

[decastroharry]

im out of hawaii and my 82 year old dad had surgery in santa monica ucla orthopedic hospital i was stuck there for 1 month and thank god for that apple store in santa monica....i kinda became a latch-key child (like i lived there ) but i did purchase my i -pod ,my 3 year computer warranty, and a i-pod boise companion...giving them 800$ worth of bussiness.......what i did notice was the i -phone brought in plenty traffic .......the birth of the i-phone brought in people every day even when the store sold out there were so many people who wanted to just hold and try the new phone.......the hawaii store is like a international store caters to many foriegn tourists as well as local people who reside in the hawaiian islands....im sure the stores sales are doing well as the store is half the size of the santa monica store.....the santa monica store actuallY teaches classes about apples software where the honolulu store didnt this was also a factor in increase people visiting the store.......in conclusion people can interact with apple personel and learn new things about thier computers -i-pods i-phones this also helps bring in foot-traffic its a WIN -WIN SITUATION

[James McKenzie]

I've been to the Tucson Arizona store and it has always been busy but not too crowded. Maybe its location in an upscale mall that has less traffic has something to do with this. If the store were located in the center of the city it might be overrun with visitors. I've never been in this store when it was absolutely empty with all of the employees just standing around.

[Ashley Grayson]

Apple stores are significantly more crowed than ever before and the nature of the crowd is much more complex than this article implies. Yesterday, I was in one of the smallest stores (to pick up a Mac mini which had a failed hard disk replaced free under AppleCare). I was quickly served but I did have time to count the crowd of sixty--all of whom were actively engaged with every machine on display from iPods to Macs. Less than an hour later, I was in one of the largest stores and it was equally crowded with (I guess 90+) people. What brought me to the second store was to meet a client. The Apple store was simply the meeting spot that was easiest place for the client from out to town to find and we were able to view a website together. While we did a small bit of personal web browsing, I also got to look at and show him the new Samsung laser printers that are featured at Apple. My casual observation is that most of the Apple store crowds are pairs of older people or groups of 3-4 Millennials who are helping each other be comfortable with Macs. So peer-selling is happening outside of traditional retail selling. This is a much more interesting phenomenon than simply the size of the crowd.

[ydlhpb]

The Manhattan Soho store is always crowded. I went there to check out an iBook last February and couldn't find one to try out so I left to get some lunch. When I came back after lunch it was even more crowded. It seemed like everyone was checking their email or on MySpace or Facebook. The sales staff was mostly busy chatting with one another. There must have been 20 people in line to purchase. I was there to ask some questions and buy a computer. I didn't do either. I left and ordered my iBook online.

[Coco Pazzo]

The only time I've visited an Apple Store "off hours" was a few months ago, when my wife was having surgery in a New York hospital. I had to drop her off at 6:30 a.m. and was told that she wouldn't be able to see anyone for at least five hours. So I wandered out into the street at that ungodly hour, and started walking the streets, when suddenly it occurred to me that the Apple Store on 59th was open 24 hours a day, so I decided to make that a destination (along with a few coffee shops en route).

Yes, it was the least crowded I'd ever seen an Apple Store. I mean who would be up at this hour, unless they had to be? But there were at least 50 customers in various places around the store, including about ten at the genius bar.

Pretty good foot traffic, if you ask me!

[Bruce in TX]

The Apple Stores in Malls do reflect "mall traffic", however they still are the busiest stores in th malls....slower in the mornings, busier as the day goes on & crowded on the weekends.
Non-mall Apple Stores are busier all the time. There are some exceptions & those are at the busiest Malls in the US....Adventura in N Miami is always packed.

Check with other Mall Retailers before you blast Apple....Again & again.
Another "shame on you" article

[Brian in Sarasota]

My family and I frequent the Apple Store at the International Mall in Tampa. I have never...EVER...been in this store when it was not packed to the gills. I have purchased four Macs of various size and expense there, untold numbers of iPods, and heaven knows what else, and the process is daunting due to the crowds. I'm not sure where the author goes for his figures, but I KNOW it is not Tampa.

[Chuck in Austin]

I visited the Domain Apple store in Austin, TX last Friday and was offered help on several occasions while I was shopping.

[Andre]

I was in the Laval,Quebec Apple Store last sunday. It was so packed in there. You could barely move. People looking at the new iPods, Powerbooks and iMacs. And long lines at the cash register too...

[ht]

How many pimps/shills are submitting comments here? Are there "so many that you can barely move" or is there only one with many names? I am really curious about the guy in Sarasota that bought "untold numbers of iPods."

[KM]

I am not very familiar with Apple machines or the brand, but my boss uses them. He moved and lost his wireless antenna for his G5, we have an NYC office on 57th and 5th Ave and I watched the building "go up" (or under ground I suppose...) so I stopped in there figuring what better place to get a wireless antenna than the Apple store on 5th Ave?

It was mobbed, again, seemed to be a mix of people surfing and shopping. 2 hour wait to speak with a genius, no obvious indication where one goes for replacement parts, so I managed to grab a random guy in a black tshirt who had a nametag. He said they don't carry anything like that in the stores and that my best bet would to be a google search for the part and order it from some place online.

The Apple store was exactly like my experience with many other Apple products- Looks great on the outside, terrific design and everything. I decide to give it a try, see what all the fuss is about, but in the end I'm left with no solution to my problem and have to turn elsewhere- the place my instincts told me would work better. ;) heheheh

(I'm joking... but only a little...)

[cd]

My wife and I visited the Apple store yesterday at the Grove in Los Angeles.It was very crowded, the sales people were very helpful, the line at the register was long, moved very fast and extra sales people came up to you while in line and volunteered to take your credit card and do the transaction before you reached the counter. We bought our ipod and were out the door in no time. An excellent consumer experience.

[Susan McIntire]

Their Bellevue Square store in Seattle was very busy last week with at least five people in line to buy things at one time but the line moved brisquely. Many other people were at the store, probably 20-30, at about 11 a.m. but it didn't seem overcrowded. I live two hours away on a good traffic day and they were very nice to accomodate me with a RAM upgrade without making me come back 48 hours later so I didn't have to add another four hour drive to get the job done. Excellent customer service and I did note how busy they were. I just hope too many people don't buy apple so that virus-writing hackers decide to target Macs in adddition to PCs. Love the dependibility of my Mac and not having to deal with McAfee or Nortons!

[jim]

I worked at the Apple store at the Fashion Valley mall in San Diego. The store was always busy, while weekends were just chaotic. As for mimicking mall traffic, this is mostly true except for the mornings. A suburban shopping mall is not traditionally used at 10am on weekdays, but the store always had a few customers waiting outside before the doors were opened at 10, while the rest of the stores and kiosks were nowhere ready to actually help customers.

[diddy]

The store at Lenox Mall in Atlanta is contanstly packed, even when the rest of the mall is dead. I think I'm one of the posters who previously stated that the Sony Store downstairs is always empty yet the Apple Store is always packed.

It's funny that noboday ever mentions the add ons and accessory sales that originate from Apple Stores. Everytime I go there I cannot find what I need because it is sold out. The margin on accessories is huge, so why aren't financial analyst mentioning them when they analyze iphone/ipod/imac sales?

[Andre]

Hey HT, what is your friggin problem?

[Rexanator]

The three stores that I visit in Denver are located in different demographic areas - one middle class, one upper middle class and one very upscale. While the iPhone rush did make all the stores crazy for about a month, in general the stores have a steady flow of traffic most of the time probably anywhere from a dozen to about 100 customers at a given time. Overall, the Cherry Creek location seems to be the most busy out of the three. The Park Meadows and Aspen Grove locations vary by the time of the day.

[Doug Williams]

While the comments about crowded stores are certainly relevant, let's not forget that crowds don't make money. Sales make money.

Apple's same-store sales growth should be what is important. That's what analysts pay attention to and it's the best metric for how effective Apple's retail strategy is.

The reason behind this is because some customers just aren't that profitable. Filling your stores with them isn't a good idea. Best Buy took a while to figure that out. Now they don't serve those types of customers anymore - you'd expect to see their stores slightly more empty (that's been my experience).

I'll take a moderately busy store with high sales than a crowded one with moderate ones.

[Doug]

KM: do a search on eBay for "G5 antenna". You won't have any problem finding one. You can't go to an Apple store and expect to find parts for old machines. That's not what they do.

[Americo]

oh boy, it has been crowded. Some stores don't have personal training session until a few weeks down the road, others have it the same day, so look around my mac faithful.

-Thunk Different.

[Dolores Graul]

This great-grandmother loves Apple. Bought one of the firsts in the 70s.
Was first in line when the first Apple Store opened at the Willow Brook Mall in Plano, Texas. I have seen it grow from just a few of us to a very, very busy place. I have always been able to be served quickly and efficiently. The person-to-person service is so neat.

Yes I have bought many, many iPods and computers (children and grandchildren have gotten them for gifts). I am on my third ipod and 6th computer.

I LOVE my iPhone. It's just for my personal use and I use all of the features.
It worked great on vacation last month in England, Italy and Paris. Faster where I could pick up WiFi and acceptable on the Edge.

Granddaughter kept in touch with her friends on her MySpace. The cost for that is anther story but worth every penny