Apple's First Store With Dedicated Pickup Area in UK Opens This Week

[MacRumors]

Apple today shared a preview of its new Brompton Road store in London, which opens to the public this Thursday, July 28 at 4 p.m. local time.

Apple Brompton Road is the first Apple Store in the UK with a dedicated Apple Pickup area for customers to pick up their products ordered on Apple's online store.

Apple has rolled out a dedicated pickup area in a handful of stores since late 2021, including Apple The Mall at Bay Plaza in New York City, Apple The Grove in Los Angeles, Apple Rosenthaler Straße in Berlin, Apple Myeongdong in Seoul, and a few others.

Other design aspects of Apple Brompton Road include floor-to-ceiling windows along the facade, a unique curved timber ceiling, terrazzo flooring, a mirrored ceiling above the Forum area for Today at Apple sessions, a dozen Sicilian ficus trees with seating at the base of each planter, and more. Apple says the store is powered by 100% renewable energy.

Apple Brompton Road is located in London's busy Knightsbridge neighborhood alongside many other flagship retailers, including the department store Harrods. Apple says the store has over 200 employees who collectively speak more than 45 languages.

"We are thrilled to open Apple Brompton Road in London, a city teeming with energy, history, and cultural diversity," said Apple's retail chief Deirdre O'Brien. "The store's focus on creativity gives our incredible team members the perfect space to share their passion and expertise with Londoners and visitors from around the world."

On July 30, four Apple Fitness+ trainers will join Apple's head of fitness technologies Jay Blahnik for an in-store Q&A session at Apple Brompton Road, followed by a three-kilometer walk and five-kilometer run in nearby Hyde Park.

Article Link: Apple's First Store With Dedicated Pickup Area in UK Opens This Week

 

[Vjosullivan]

"dedicated pick up area". 🤣

 

[contacos]

Did not know that wasn't a thing everywhere.

Generally I wish they would bring (back?) check out counters like every damn store in existence. I don't go a lot but every time I do, I feel like an Idiot trying to find a "Genius" that is free and I can "bother" with taking my money. "Sorry, I can't but someone will be with you shortly. SMILEY FACE".

Same with getting support actually. They tell you to sit down wherever in the store and you hope, they did not forget about you. Last time i was sitting under some random decorative tree at the store, watching "Geniuses" having a chat with one another wondering if they will ever take my case. I don't understand why they do not have a dedicated area where you sit down and a display shows you which Number is next or whatever.

 

[mookc1]

All of the stores need this! One IDENTIFIED space to go to to pick up online orders. Nothing worse than the screener at the front of the store directing traffic. That is the bottleneck in the store at International Plaza in Tampa.

 

[BellSystem]

Thank god. I am so sick of placing an online order and having to wait 30 minutes for someone to "be right with me".

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

What's the point of a "dedicated pick-up" area when you can have your devices delivered right at the doorstep. It's not like they are serving the customers with alcohol. With the dedicated pickup area, I'm sure you still have to wait in line.

 

[arkitect]

"dedicated pick up area". 🤣

Apple obviously knows their local demographic well. 🤣

 

[icanhazmac]

Seems like a no-brainer. Waiting to pickup an already purchased item is a horrible customer experience.

 

[contacos]

What's the point of a "dedicated pick-up" area when you can have your devices delivered right at the doorstep. It's not like they are serving the customers with alcohol. With the dedicated pickup area, I'm sure you still have to wait in line.

Online Order delivery: some time in August
Online Order pick-up: potentially same day, depending on the store

 

[antiprotest]

Finally. But I wish they would bring back counters for everything, rather than making customers hunt down a "genius" and shoving other people away in order to get any help with every little thing. Did the Burberry lady made that mess? I forgot her name.

 

[rpmurray]

This is a great idea. Someplace people can go and stand around waiting for the employees to deign to notice them an hour or so later. But I think putting up a sign says "Pickup" is too gauche for Apple and detracts from the aesthetics of the store. They should remove that and have people try to guess where it is. Much like the design of the OS.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Online Order delivery: some time in August
Online Order pick-up: potentially same day, depending on the store

Good point but many same-day delivery items get delivered out of the local Apple Store within hours.

 

[tweaknmod]

What's the point of a "dedicated pick-up" area when you can have your devices delivered right at the doorstep. It's not like they are serving the customers with alcohol. With the dedicated pickup area, I'm sure you still have to wait in line.

Some people don't like the idea of a $2k+ device sitting outside where porch pirates can nab it. Or, they may want to speak with an Apple employee about setup, accessories they may want to buy, or anything else they might have in mind.

 

[contacos]

Good point but many same-day delivery items get delivered out of the local Apple Store within hours.

Ah I don't think they do that here in Germany. Online Orders come straight from China or some warehouse in The Netherlands or whatever. Not directly from a store in your city

 

[Feek]

A store with drive through pickup would be rather handy.

 

[MRrainer]

Pickup-line jokes incoming....

 

[imnotthewalrus]

Finally. But I wish they would bring back counters for everything, rather than making customers hunt down a "genius" and shoving other people away in order to get any help with every little thing. Did the Burberry lady made that mess? I forgot her name.

Angela Ahrendts. She all but destroyed Apple Retail.

 

[myscrnnm]

Very cool! Next they should introduce a counter for people to check out at too.

 

[BrettArchibald]

You know what the Apple Stores need? A good old-fashioned till, for people to pay at!
The idea of paying any random member of groundfloor staff on one of their personal payment devices is great in theory, but you can never actually do it! Why? Because most customers in the store hog all the time of the groundfloor staff, and won’t let them get away as they ask them the most inane questions for ages, questions for which the answers are invariably right there in front of them.
This happens all!! The!!! Time!!!
The last time I went to the Apple Store close by where I live, I just wanted to walk in, pick up an iPhone, pay for it, and walk out. But no, I could not do that, as I was told all the members of staff were all busy helping other customers, and that I could put my name on a waiting list to be served. I was told the waiting time would be over 30 minutes!!
WTAF? The thing I want to buy is right there. I know what I want. I don’t have any questions to ask about it. I don’t have any special requirements.
This was not a big release day, the store was not particularly crowded. It was just an average Saturday.
Ludicrous! Seriously Apple, just put a damn till in your store for people who only want to buy something and pay for it, not for the other people who want to tell the groundfloor staff their entire life story!

 

[obamtl]

How’s this different from the dedicated Pickup store one floor down from the main store in London’s Stratford Westfield mall?

 

[Caviar_X]

I can confirm that the Michigan Ave location in Chicago had a dedicated pickup area yesterday when I went to go pick up my M2 Air. However, the sign needs to be bigger.

 

[mookc1]

Angela Ahrendts. She all but destroyed Apple Retail.

Her vision destroyed the Apple retail experience. I hoped by now that they would have unraveled the mess, but they haven't.

 

[joshseibert]

Thank god. I am so sick of placing an online order and having to wait 30 minutes for someone to "be right with me".

I’ve used online order pickup a few times in the last year, at different Apple stores, and each time it was a frustrating hassle.

And honestly, order pickup aside, their retail experience in general is over-engineered and chaotic. Makes me want to get out of the store as quickly as possible.

 

[Danoc]

That's perfect for me to pick up the Apple Car I'll order next. 🤣

 

[nfl46]

Please make all the stores like this because it’s ridiculous how it’s set up now. And the fact that I have to find a genius to pay for something is ridiculous. Just make a pick up and checkout counter and make it easy for others. I just get everything shipped to me because I dislike the way things are done in the stores. It’s confusing if you don’t go often.