For the second time this year, various online iPhone vendors in China have cut the prices of the Apple products in their inventory. Due to the continuing slowdown of Apple product sales in the country, retailers have apparently been forced to cut down their product's prices to make them more affordable to Chinese consumers.
A number of online electronics vendors announced this week that they will be offering massive discounts for Apple products. This was preceded by yet another series of online discounts that were offered in January. Suning.com, a popular online retailer in China, announced that it would be offering a 1,000 Yuan (US$149) discount for the recently released iPhone XS. The company's prior discounts had included the majority of the iPhone models, except for the iPhone XS.
High-end online retailer Pinduoduo has also announced that it will be offering the same discount for the 64GB edition of the iPhone XS. The price for the new iPhone has dropped to 6,999 Yuan or around US$1,050. JD.com, another large online retailer in China, has announced discounts for a range of Apple products, which includes the newer iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. The website is offering a larger discount for the more expensive XS Max, which it is now selling with a discount of 1,700 Yuan or US$254. JD.com previously did not include the iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max in its discount offers in January.
According to Apple's most recent earnings report, its year-on-year sales in China have been steadily declining by as much as 20 percent. The company has so far blamed the country's slowing demand for its products and the rise of more aggressive competitors in the smartphone market. Apple's products are also significantly much more expensive than the products being offered by its direct competitors, which includes companies such as Huawei and Samsung.
While Apple is still unwilling to drop its global retail prices, the company has taken some steps to make its products more attainable for Chinese customers. Apple recently partnered with the financial arm of Alibaba Group Holdings, Ant Financial, to offer Chinese customers interest-free loans for the latest iPhone models. Through these loans, customers won't have to outright pay the full sticker price for Apple's latest products. Instead, customers can now pay small monthly payments without any interest added on top.
Despite the massive discounts being offered by online retailers in China, Apple has yet to change the prices on its Chinese website. Apple has also not yet commented on the recent round of discounts in China nor has it confirmed that it will be dropping prices for its products any time soon.
