Apple to Offer Home Delivery of MacBooks and iMacs
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is said to be preparing for the launch of a new retail store service in August. This service will allow Apple retail store employees to offer customers the convenience of home delivery when making purchases, rather than the conventional method of customers having to transport their bought items themselves.
Gurman said the EasyPay machines used for Apple in-store purchases will soon offer home delivery for the first time. The new option not only makes it easier for users to buy large products such as an iMac or Mac Pro, but also makes it possible to reserve a store even if the product is out of stock.
Currently, Apple Store staff can help customers order larger or final products online by using the store’s demo Mac or iPad demo or by going online through an EasyPay device. Gurman suggests that this new option could potentially reduce the physical space needed for inventory in future stores.
Additionally, he believes it could benefit Apple’s retail strategy for its Vision Pro headset, which offers various custom combinations of headbands, lightweight seals and prescription lens inserts, making the ordering process more manageable.
In India, Apple currently has two retail stores – Apple BKC in Mumbai and Apple Sake in New Delhi. However, it is still uncertain whether this new service will be available globally or only in the US.
In related news, Gurman recently revealed that the Mac mini and high-end MacBook Pro will not be among the first Macs to be released with the M3 chip later this year.
Last week, he said that the first Macs with the M3 chip could be released as early as October of this year. The first models with the M3 chip are likely to be the 13-inch MacBook Pro, 13-inch MacBook Air, and 24-inch iMac.
