The Apple Store: The City's "Seal of Approval"?

"The computer stores have become ‘anchors' for affluent downtown areas, says Robert Gibbs, an urban economic and planning consultant and author of of 'Principles of Urban Retail Planning and Development.'

'Sports stadiums do not generate much cross shopping: they're nice to have but greatly overrated,' Gibbs says. 'If you have an Apple store on your Main Street, though, that gives you a kind of ‘good housekeeping seal of approval,' that's going to attract others.'

Gibbs figures Apple stores can boost traffic to nearby stores by 15 to 20%, sending affluent customers to nearby clothing stores, coffee shops, and book stores."