Just over a month after the latest iPhone was released, Chinese retailers have already begun slashing prices.
Sellers on Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba’s Taobao and JD.com have been offering discounts on Apple’s latest iPhone 15 ahead of the Singles’ Day shopping festival on November 11, which has been going on for weeks now.
Based on an examination of the results, the price cuts on both sites ranged from 300 yuan to more than 1,000 yuan ($41 to $137) below Apple’s official retail price in China. wealth. (Apple’s China website lists the cheapest iPhone 15 model at 5,999 yuan, about $821).
Alibaba, JD.com and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment. wealthRequest for comment.
Deep discounts are common ahead of Singles’ Day as e-commerce sellers try to attract Chinese shoppers. This isn’t the first time a retailer has sold iPhones at steep price cuts, either: In February, discount by seller The iPhone 14 Pro series, the latest model of Apple’s smartphones at the time, saw an 11-day price cut of about $109.
Yet these discounts come about four months after the iPhone 14 Pro was released. By comparison, the iPhone 15 price cut came a month after the phone was released in September.
iPhone sales slump
Several analysts have reported that iPhone sales in China may be slowing. Data released by Counterpoint Research last week showed iPhone 15 sales in China were weaker than expected, with the latest model of Apple’s smartphone underperforming compared to previous models.
“China’s overall 15-series data posted a loss, reflecting a broader decline in consumer spending,” Zhang Mengmeng, a research analyst at Counterpoint Research, wrote in a research note.
Analysts at Jefferies also predict Apple’s sales in China will decline and predict that global shipments of iPhone 15 this year will be lower than expected. According to CNBC.
Apple’s revenue in China accounted for about 20% of the company’s revenue last year, and a slow launch could exacerbate Apple’s difficulties there. Lately, the iPhone maker has been grappling with Beijing’s new rules requiring any apps sold in China’s app stores to be approved by the government.That can delete Thousands of foreign apps in Apple’s China store.
Apple CEO Tim Cook made a surprise visit to China last week, including meetings with senior Chinese officials including China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang.
The company also faces new competition from Huawei. Counterpoint Research noted in a separate report Domestic mobile phone manufacturers are one of them It was one of the few brands to post year-on-year growth last quarter, driven largely by Huawei’s Mate 60 phone and its new processor that could evade sanctions.
Huawei is targeting the low-priced high-end smartphone market. While Apple and Huawei phones have different specs, the base model of the Mate 60 retails for about $752, while the base iPhone 15 sells for $821.
double eleven
The large-scale shopping event of Double Eleven may be the next important indicator of China’s consumption recovery. Once the unofficial “anti-Valentine’s Day” for gatherings of single friends, companies like Alibaba have turned November 11 into a weeks-long shopping frenzy.In the U.S., Singles’ Day sales regularly exceed Black Friday sales
Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall Double Eleven sales starts on tuesday The e-commerce giant expects to attract about 1 billion consumers this year.
China’s consumer spending has recovered slower than expected after the epidemic. Previous signals on consumer confidence – the National Day Golden Week holiday in early October – turned out to be disappointing, with domestic travel just 4% above pre-pandemic levels and well below official forecasts.
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