All of this presents an odd challenge for Paco Underhill, the retail design guru who spends much of his time troubleshooting stores with obvious problems. For the last two decades, the CEO of the retail consultancy Envirosell has applied the principles of academic anthropology to retail environments. From that effort, he has deduced a set of basic rules, like these: People drift to the right when they enter a store, then circulate counterclockwise. The longer they spend in a store, the more they buy. The more open space you provide, the longer they linger.

If success lurks in details like those, it explains why Apple CEO Steve Jobs spends half a day each week with a 20-member design team, hashing out tweak after tweak in each of his 53 retail stores. In one session, the group agonized over three types of lighting to get Jobs's iMacs to shine just as they do in glossy ads.

More to the point, Jobs knows he has to make these new boutiques work. Since May 2001, the company has plowed more than $200 million into the stores -- a bold gambit, considering that the Mac user base hasn't grown in 10 years and that for the last five, Apple's market share has flatlined at about 3 percent.

Yet the stores show impressive signs of life. During Apple's most recent quarter, they generated 10 percent of the company's $1.5 billion in revenue. Even with high rents in shopping districts in Boston, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles, the outlets lost just $22 million in 2002 and are on a break-even pace for 2003.

When you walk into the SoHo store's 15,000 square feet of white walls, glass, and blond wood, the place looks more like a design museum than a computer retailer. But as Paco knows, it isn't just for show.

Ground Floor

Grab the Customer at the Door
A retailer's vestibule is where shoppers pause and get their bearings. Then they drift to the right before moving in a counterclockwise direction.
Paco: Apple breaks the rules by leaving the first 20 yards bare, but it works. Look up and you see the top edge of a theater screen; people want to find out what's up there.

Create a Spectacle
The glass staircase is the store's visual centerpiece. Customers naturally want to climb it, drawing them into the store.
Paco: Spectacular, yes, but there's just one problem: Older shoppers may be terrified of slipping or falling. Let people know there's an elevator too.

Keep Signage Big and Bold
Apple organized hardware sales into five bays: consumer, pro, movies, music, and photos. Small placards display prices and specs.
Paco: Lots of people walk in and don't know it's a store. Here you could use a big sign -- "In Stock Now." Consummate the damn deal!

Indulge Impulse Buys
Besides stacks of iPod boxes, only two other products are on display at checkout.
Paco: A high percentage of shoppers actually read signs when they're held captive in line. Stack more point-of-sale products within reach, and post simple signs explaining what they do.

Second Floor