In case there is any doubt about Apple’s popularity
I did some quick shopping at the mall Sunday with my wife. I live in Michigan and Sunday was an incredibly beautiful day that begged to be spent outdoors, riding a bike, putzing around in the yard, enjoying the last warm and sunny weather before the cold of winter comes barreling in any day now.
Alas, we had some shopping we had to do and so, around lunchtime, there I was at the Somerset Mall in Troy. “See honey,” I pointed out, sweeping my arm around what was almost a deserted mall. “we’re the only ones foolish enough to go shopping on such a gorgeous day.”
Even the food court, shortly after noon, was unusually empty.
Then I spotted the Apple Store.
The Somerset Apple Store in Troy, MI Sunday Nov. 8, 2009
It was jammed. I counted 107 people inside. Look for yourself. They were checking out iPhones, those new stunning 27-inch iMacs, MacBooks and iPods.
There were young people, old people, kids. No demographic had a majority presence, except perhaps the help, what with their piercings, mohawks and neon-colored hair.
I walked end to end and listened in. These customers were buyers. They didn’t seem to be doing early holiday shopping, either.
They were shopping for themselves.
But here’s what was perhaps most telling: I noticed that those who were shopping with someone else usually had the other person doing the selling. The Apple salespeople didnt have to sell at all. Satisfied customers were bringing friends and relatives and enthusiastically showing the products and explaining how they worked and what could be done with them.
I don’t know if yesterday was typical or not. The store didn’t seem to have any specials or running any promotions. It was, best as I can tell, just a normal Sunday afternoon, except for the good weather outside.
But the Apple Store was the only place in the mall that had anything that could be called a crowd.
I’m thinkin’ Apple is on a roll these days.
