I feel uncomfortable in the Apple Store because of the crowds and the noise and maybe a bit because of the sterility of the design, however, I feel the same way in most indoor shopping malls. In malls there's an added problem which is that the layout is confusing - there are often a lot of turns and intersections that all look similar. However, I'm not sure how much I can trust my own feelings here as a basis for the quality of a retail experience - lots of people CHOOSE to hang out at the mall. I think I might analogize this to the difference between introverts and extroverts. Extroverts gain energy from social situations while introverts expend energy. I suspect that there are a lot of people who find who find these crowded shopping experiences exhilarating and a lot of people who just find them exhausting.