

A Look at Apple’s Spot-the-Shopper Technology - njohnw
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/25/a-look-at-apples-spot-the-shopper-technology/

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alanfalcon
I was hoping this would be a detailed look at how Apple implemented their buy-
it-from-your-iPhone-using-your-AppleID-without-ever-talking-to-a-salesperson
option in the Apple Store App.* I suppose it's in Apple's best interests to
not reveal details of that system to would be thieves though.

* I used this feature when it first came out and found the experience pleasant, and was even prompted to flag down an employee and ask for a bag if I wanted (sure that partly defeats the purpose, but I did it anyway to see what would happen—I received a smile and a bag and a thank you with no hint of suspicion and no double checking of the receipt showing on my phone. I did have to enter the security code from my linked Credit Card.

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X-Istence
The system knows when you are in an Apple Store (it is a feature built into
the location API apparently (it's an option in the emulator!)) and after you
"take a picture" of the barcode it simply communicates with iTunes and charges
your card.

Very awesome system in that it removes yet another bit of friction from the
buying experience. I no longer have to wait for someone to be available to pay
for my purchase, I simply pick it up, pay for it using my iTunes account, and
leave the store.

~~~
throw_away
this explains how honest people get billed, but says nothing of how they
manage loss-prevention.

~~~
X-Istence
From what I have heard from Apple Store Employees who I asked about this
topic, at the moment they are doing nothing. Technically someone could grab
something from the shelve, look like they are checking out on the phone and
walk out and there is no verification that someone has actually paid for the
item.

It is going to be interesting how, or even better if, they are going to tackle
the issue of loss prevention or if they are going to consider it an operating
loss.

The interesting thing is that even before they implemented the self-checkout
system it was based on the honor system as well. Nobody has ever asked me if I
had paid for the items as I was leaving the Apple store. Nobody flagged me
down as I was holding items to pay for them. I didn't have a physical receipt,
just one they emailed to me and I've almost never asked for a bag so they
can't identify people who have paid vs those who hadn't paid that way...

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sorbits
Last I was in an Apple store they put a sticker on the purchased goods (this
was before the self-checkout).

I assume the sticker was proof-of-purchase (as receipt was being emailed).

~~~
X-Istence
They still do this with anything large they go get from the back of the store
(new computers, new laptops, iPad's and the like) but not with stuff that you
can grab off the shelves.

The stuff they grab from the back of the store still has to be paid in person
with someone that has an iPhone with card scanner... no self-checkout there
yet :P

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flyt
This is almost certainly not approved by Apple PR, and is one of the rare
instances where any information about Apple's internal operations are released
to the public.

I would guess that Diego is about to be out of a job before Christmas :[

~~~
joezydeco
I really didn't see anything in the article that you can't glean by going to a
store in person and watching the employees work.

Last time I was there I even asked the blueshirt to show me the battery
pack/scanner apparatus attached to his phone. It was no big deal and he was
happy to talk about it.

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mjs
I tried the "request assistance" button in Apple's Covent Garden store a month
or two ago, and it didn't work. No-one came, and when I asked a real person
about this, he said they were aware someone needed help, but the system isn't
able to tell them exactly where the person was. But maybe they've fixed it
now...

