About a week ago, Chinese online store, Suning announced a massive price cut for Apple iPhone 11 series. Some of the price cut was a much as 1600 yuan ($225). Now, other Chinese online stores have joined Sunning to announce varying degrees of price cuts for the iPhone 11 series. The notable stores include Jingdong, Taobao, and Tmall.
For example, the iPhone 11 64GB is selling for 4999 yuan ($709) on Suning which is 500 yuan ($71) cheaper than Apple’s official website. The iPhone 11 Pro Max 64GB has a 7,499 yuan ($1064) price tag which is 1600 yuan ($225) cheaper than Apple’s official website. On Jingdong, the iPhone 11 128GB version is selling for 5999 yuan ($851) which is the same as Apple’s official website. However, there is a 500 yuan ($71) discount coupon which takes the price to 5499 yuan ($780).
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In addition, other online stores like Gome and Dangdang have different discounts on the price of the iPhone 11 series. Analysts believe that the new round of iPhone price cuts is partly due to the removal of inventory during the epidemic. Furthermore, this is also in preparation for the arrival of the new iPhone 12 series.
In addition, Apple cooperating with some e-commerce companies to start flash delivery and door-to-door service. For example, last month, Apple launched a door-to-door replacement service at its JD.com store. The project includes products such as Apple iPhones, the latest iPad Pro, and Apple Macbook Air. In the past, these trade-in services need to go to Apple’s physical retail stores.
Other manufacturers like Huawei and Vivo also has a similar service. Huawei and Meituan recently signed an agreement. The agreement targets door-to-door delivery in cities like Beijing and Shanghai.
According to IDC’s market report in February this year, China’s smartphone shipments in the first quarter may fall by more than 30% year-on-year. Another report from Canalys believes that China’s smartphone shipments will decline by up to 50% year-on-year in Q1 2020.