I noticed this on my last Apple Store visit. It was nice to be able to pick up an iPhone and walk around with it, even stick it in my pocket to get a sense of the size difference between the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
I never felt watched, never got a sense of extra security around the iPhone table, though I can’t imagine there’s not some security measures in place to prevent wholesale shoplifting.
No matter, this was definitely an improved customer experience.
I think Apple’s anti-theft store devices are fantastic. Just a light cord hanging off an iPhone or iPad or MacBook. It allows you to pick them up and fully experience them. Feel is so important to any product. And Apple knows this right down to the anti theft devices. Allowing them to be totally untethered is incredible!
Other electronic stores have no idea in comparison. Massive anti theft domes glued underneath a phone, some with retractable cables so they’re always pulling away from you. Or laptops bolted down so you can’t pick them up to feel them. It shows what they value. Product first, customer experience second.
It’s remarkable. The company with the high end expensive products is seemingly light on security. Yet the cheap plasticky budget PC is locked down.
There’s a study in retail for you.