Major Chinese third-party retailers, JD.com, TMall and Pinduoduo are vying for consumers by giving even steeper discounts on Apple’s iPhone 15 just five months after its introduction, as the US tech company’s sales in China stagnate.
The newest round of reductions follows similar hefty discounts provided by internet businesses in October. Third-party shops are also providing discounts of up to 10 per cent on Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro.
To increase demand, Apple periodically enables Chinese partner merchants to offer discounts on its phones. The iPhone 15 introduction occurred at a time when Apple’s sales were faltering in China, where it was facing increasing competition from homegrown rivals like Huawei and Xiaomi.
Apple made a unique move last month by offering discounts of up to 500 yuan on iPhones on its official websites.
According to Reuters, third-party merchants were giving discounts on all four variants of the iPhone 15 series on Thursday, including the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max, with certain models selling for up to 1,300 yuan (USD 180.68) less than the regular price.
Local media reported the price reduction, and the three online merchants labelled the discounts as part of the upcoming International Women’s Day campaign, which takes place on 8 March but has not specified how long the promos will last.
Apple, JD.com, Alibaba (which runs the Tmall platform), and PDD did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Retailers have been involved in a “value for money” struggle as customers tighten their pockets in a weakening economy, with discounts being a priority during some of the main shopping holidays and events.
According to Reuters, Pinduoduo’s website offers the 128GB version of the iPhone 15 for 4,588 yuan, which is 1,411 yuan cheaper than Apple’s retail pricing of 5,999 yuan.
The 256GB iPhone 15 Pro Max, which generally costs 9,999 yuan in Apple stores, is available for 8,899 yuan on JD.com’s premier e-commerce portal.
