Toys For Adults
No, not that kind of toy…
Although if Apple got into that business they’d probably do pretty well there, too.
What I’m talking about is why I think Apple is doing so well in the electronics game while companies like Circuit City are dying off en masse, and Microsoft is losing market share at an accelerating pace.
While some argue they have a superior product, and at least it is more appealing to the eye than most others, I’m going to suggest an additional reason I think they are doing well — especially when it comes to expanding their market into the mainstream.
Apple stores are like a toy store for an adult. You can come in, play around with everything, all their stuff is out in the open and you can tinker with it. Because of the openness, you can see other people playing, too, making you want to try it out. Even their products are shiny and rounded like little toys.
The feel however, isn’t like a toy store. The stores are refined and sophisticated, taking great lengths to avoid any suggestion of childishness. This is very appealing to the mainstream, mall-going crowd. At some level I think they surreptitiously plan it this way — draw them in to play with the toys but tell them they aren’t playing with toys, they are still very grown up, sophisticated people.
Microsoft is losing the mainstream because they aren’t engaging them, or more accurately, their resellers aren’t. Their resellers are places like Circuit City, Best Buy, Office Depot — which aren’t in the mall, so they aren’t in the mainstream. They make you come to them rather than putting themselves in front of the populous.
I wonder what kind of success a Windows-based (or even Linux-based) reseller would have if they spent some time on industrial design and emulated the Apple store’s strategy of the mall adult toy store. It certainly couldn’t hurt their market share.
