Cupertino kicking off in-store pickup initiative in The States

Oct 26, 2011 06:44 GMT  ·  By

The online Apple Store is down in several territories around the world, including the United States, where the yellow sticky sign is up with the message “we’ll be back soon”.

The giant computer company headquartered at 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California has posted its famous message saying “We are busy updating the store for you and will be back shortly” which generally signals that something new is up.

And while we’re generally left guessing what that something is, this time around we may have a clue.

It has been revealed this week that Apple plans to roll out a new service that allows customers to order stuff online and pick it up personally from their local Apple Store.

Kicking off in the San Francisco area first, the program also accepts returns of products ordered online.

People familiar with the situation say the initiative will eventually expand to all stores across the United States. Clients will be able to pick up Macintosh computers that were purchased as build-to-order options, as well as gift-wrapped items or engraved devices

The third-party accessories generally found throughout Apple stores also fall under the new initiative.

Apple will require an online receipt and ID to allow the customer to complete his / her in-store pickup. Clients, for their part, can let someone else do the picking up for them, as long as that person comes in-store carrying the aforementioned proof-of-purchase.

While I expect this change to be the main reason behind Apple’s move to take down the online store to make the necessary interface adjustments, we can always hope Apple will surprise us with a new product announcement or upgrade.

Granted, that’s not very likely as Apple just recently updated the MacBook Pro line, and there are no signs of any new upgrades on the horizon for the near term.

Update: Apple store back online with no visible changes as of yet.