The long, slow run-up to the Apple Watch launch just got a little weirder.
One week after emailing employees to clarify that the smartwatch will not be stocked in stores on April 24, Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts sounded many of the same notes in a video message to employees. Acknowledging customers’ continued confusion about whether they’ll be able to buy a watch in stores on Friday, Ahrendts stressed that the company is sticking to online-only orders for now due to high demand and limited supply.
Customers who pre-ordered the watch will begin receiving shipments Friday, and Ahrendts reminded employees to help them get the gadget up and running. But it remains unclear just how many customers will have watches to play with Friday — most models of the watch slipped to back-order shortly after sales began.
The watch’s unconventional launch has left many Apple observers scratching their heads. Apple fans are used to having to wait for what they want — customers across the Bay Area camped out in September to be among the first to buy the iPhone 6, as they have for previous editions of the powerhouse phone. Nevertheless, they can usually trust that if their devotion is strong enough — and they pack their sleeping bags — they will walk away with the product first. That’s why customers are so perplexed this time around, Ken Segall, an advertising expert who once worked on Apple campaigns, wrote on his blog.
“This time, the reality was quite different from the expectation,” he wrote. “I can’t remember Apple ever playing with words and expectations as it did here.”
Angela Ahrendts stressed that Apple has not abandoned its blockbuster product launches — the watch just demanded a different approach. Here’s hoping the iPhone 6S is a gadget worth camping out for.
Above: Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts is counseling employees on how to handle the Apple Watch’s unconventional launch (Getty Images).
