Q: SEATTLE APPLE STORE: When will Apple open an Apple Store in Downtown Seattle?

Apple has three retailers that serve different areas in the Puget Sound region, but there is not one available in downtown Seattle. The three include the Apple Store at University Village, the Apple Store at Bellevue Square mall (Bellevue, Washington), and the Apple Store at Southcenter (Tukwila, Washington). Although it is correct to state that Apple does have an Apple Store in Seattle at University Village, it is more accurately placed in North Seattle and most directly caters to North Seattle residents and university students attending the University of Washington. This location is not easy to get to, and is far from downtown Seattle. The Tukwila location at Southcenter serves communities in mostly South Seattle, Tukwila, Renton and Kent, Washington, but is also not near Seattle's downtown core. It is actually closer to the Sea-Tac Airport. Bellevue, Washington, is on the Eastside of Lake Washington and caters to communities spanning from Mercer Island to Issaquah, Kirkland, Totem Lake, Redmond, and points beyond.

All three stores can be reached by car and public transit, but Seattle is a fast-growing city in an increasingly dense region in Puget Sound that include cities as far as Everett, Bremerton, Tacoma and Olympia, Washington. It seems like Apple has a flagship retail location for the Apple Store in other urban markets and cities, but not in downtown Seattle. Why is that?

Seattle as an established tech hub for software development, digital media, film and music should be a good fit for supporting an Apple Store. The emerging South Lake Union corridor that has attracted Amazon and Microsoft and as well as startups, biotech companies, coworking spaces, and new residential density suggest that there is an opportunity missed here to reach a broad consumer and professional demographic. While it may be true that Apple can reach a market such as this through online transactions, the travel time and traffic density to reach an Apple Store in remote areas away from downtown Seattle can be time-consuming and a source of frustration. Does it make sense to budget 2-hours out my day to get to and back from an Apple Store that is located on the far margins of greater Seattle metropolitan area just to talk with a Genius Bar tech about an iPhone glitch and get it serviced for repairs?

Downtown Seattle of the mid 2010s is not the downtown Seattle of the 1990s. There are a lot of people living and working in Seattle as well as upscale retail and mall space to support siting an Apple Store in the city. The opportunity to elevate Apple's visibility besides a few rotating billboard campaigns in downtown Seattle is really missed here.