On its first-ever Alibaba’s Singles’ Day shopping festival, Apple’s flagship store on Tmall is offering a maximum discount up to RMB 1,111 (USD 158) for its latest iPhone 11 models, including the regular iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, and other older models, as the California-based company is vying for the Chinese shoppers’ wallets.
Apple’s sales have seen a boost, owing to a stack of flash coupons—ranging from RMB 200 (USD 28) to RMB 1,111 (USD 158)—depending on the iPhone models. It is also offering a 24 interest-free installment payment plan.
Within the first ten minutes of the online shopping festival, Apple’s Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) was seven times the entire number from last year’s Single’s Day, also known as Double 11, according to Tmall’s Weibo official account. Apple’s Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) exceeded RMB 100 million within the first hour on November 11, according to stats from e-commerce giant Alibaba.
The discount offers from Apple comes at a time when the company has been trying to make its products more affordable, in response to the stiff competition in the Chinese smartphone market.
The latest iPhone 11 line-up, priced at USD 50 less for the cheapest variant in comparison with the last generation model, has helped Apple’s sales. The Cupertino-based company said sales in greater China fell 2.4% in its fourth-quarter ended Sept. 30, a much better result compared to the 27% drop in the first quarter of the year.
Yet, Apple’s market share sank to 5.2% from 7.1% from the same period last year, a report from research institution Canalys revealed. In contrast, Shenzhen-based firm Huawei expanded its share to a record 42.4% at home in the third quarter, with 41.5 million shipments.
Apple is now the No.5 smartphone vendor in China, lagging behind local brands Huawei, Vivo, Oppo, and Xiaomi, according to the report.
Industry watchers believe that adopting active marketing strategies is necessary for Apple, whose new products didn’t come with stunning innovations. Besides, Apple hasn’t released any 5G-enabled handset yet.