Apple Retail Sales Down For First Time in Four Years
Though Apple’s retail stores have always provided a visual spectacle in malls, shopping centers and on street corners, the company has reported that it’s suffering its first retail sales drop in at least four years. This news comes alongside the fact that the company has been without a head of retail for nearly 10 months.
The company’s lack of leadership in this area hasn’t helped these falling figures, according to Craig Johnson, head of Customer Growth Partners, a research organization that helps businesses build their customer service image and functionality.
“Apple needs to recreate and reinvent its once novel retail model, which is now not so novel.”
Years ago, Apple vigorously altered our idea of a technology retailer, focusing on making its shelves and counter tops particularly pristine and lacking in clutter, opposing commonplace tech shops that tended to portray themselves conversely – with cords, boxes, screens and plastic galore.
It may still be one of the market leaders in tech, but other companies have quickly gained traction and kept pace with Apple – especially when it comes to honing their own style, as Apple once did. But that doesn’t mean Apple has stopped the search for a new retailer manager to fix the downward slide – quite the opposite actually, according to an Apple spokeswoman who spoke with The Wall Street Journal.
“We’re actively looking for a head of retail. We have a strong network of leaders who will continue to do the excellent work they’ve done over the last decade serving our customers.”
Apple is also, according to a number of its employees, putting a heavy focus back on customer service at retail, which feasibly should help in the matter. The company is re-training staff about sales techniques, recommending apps for customers and overall helping customers choose the right product.
Whether it’s the signature Apple style that others are emulating or the simple fact that the online shopping rate is one that’s constantly trending higher that’s affecting Apple’s sales is still unclear, but it seems abundantly clear that Apple needs to make a move sooner rather than later if they hope to buck the downward trend at the register.