The Apple Beat: A look at Apple Retail 2.0

iPad 2's are now running the Smart Sign software to make shopping at the Apple Store as easy as shopping on the webText and photos by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Celebrating its recent 10-year-anniversary, Apple's Retail Store has undergone a quick makeover to change with the times and make the perusing and purchase of Apple products easier and more efficient. We took a quick tour of the Eaton Centre Apple Store in downtown Toronto earlier today to get a better idea of what visitors can expect. Hit jump to see a video and some more photos of the new Apple Store experience.

Setting up revamped stores and a new experience over the weekend, all 325 Apple Retail Stores around the world (19 in Canada) underwent a subtle but significant overahaul to how they present products, engage customers and improve the in-store experience.

Think of it as the simplicity of online web-based shopping realized in the real world. When shopping online, customers usually have all their credit card and shipping information stored into the system. Once they know what they're buying, it is a matter of choosing the model and making the sale. This is how the new Apple Store Retail system with the Smart Sign works.

Victoria Day at the Eaton Centre Apple Store is as busy as ever

Each Apple product has an iPad 2 that serves to give product information, comparative info between units and allows any user to call on an Apple Specialist who will show up within minutes. The system helps customers get info but it also declutters the flow of the retail store.

All 325 Apple stores worldwide have replaced their traditional tabletop signs with dozens of iPads running Smart Sign -- a custom app that gives customers all the product information they need, right at their fingertips. Using Smart Sign, customers can get product and pricing information or call a Specialist for help while they browse. Every Apple product in the store will be merchandised with a Smart Sign.

Here's a bit of irony, the iPad 2 remains in high demand and is in short supply and as a result customers who have been clamouring to buy them have offered to buy the Smart Sign-enabled ones which are hardwired (and pretty well secured) to the demo desks at the stores.

With the new Smart Sign enabled iPad 2's, Apple products literally sell themselves

Also the new Personal Setup experience now includes a free personalization of any iPad, iPhone, iPod or Mac, so customers are up and running before they leave the store.  One of the big issues with purchasing a new iPad is that users have to wait to get home to set it up with their iTunes accounts before they could even start using the devices.

Apple's specialists  now take new owners further by offering workshops, tips and tricks, recommendations on Apps with an App starter kit, and free phone support from home. Personal Setup is an interesting way to help new customers get their devices up and running and also helps Apple push products in its iOS ecosystem by suggesting apps and even accessories for specific users.

The days of going home with Apple products you can't use are over thanks to Personal Setup which gets i-devices up and running before you exit the store

Apple Retail also provides an important point of service for thousands of Mac and iOS users. Every day, more than 50,000 people get free tech support and advice at the Genius Bar and over 60% of Macs are repaired on the same day they are dropped off for service.

Apple has also made suere their stores have hosted millions of personal training sessions to help people get more out of their Mac and out of themselves. 

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Gadjo Sevilla is a long time Mac user and technician and has been covering Apple's business and products for over 15 years. The Apple Beat is a weekly opinion column focusing on the latest Apple news.