This morning, the topic of "rare and significant price reduction on Apple's official website" became a hot topic, attracting attention from all parties. Apple China's official website has launched a rare event preview, which will launch a "Spring Festival limited time discount" from January 18th to 21st. Purchasing designated products through eligible payment methods can save up to 800 yuan.
At the same time as the official announcement of price reduction, Apple's sales in the Chinese market are accelerating their decline. According to the latest report from investment bank Jeffrey, due to fierce competition among local Chinese brands, especially Huawei's strong return to the high-end market after the release of the Mate 60 series in August 2023, iPhone sales in the Chinese market in the first week of 2024 decreased significantly by 30% compared to the same period last year. The report also pointed out that the new models of Apple's iPhone 15 series have reduced prices on multiple e-commerce platforms, and on the Pinduoduo platform, the price reduction of this series is as high as 16%.
Rare Big Price Reduction on Apple's Official Website
On January 15th, a topic about "rare and significant price reduction on Apple's official website" topped the hot search list and attracted attention.
On January 15th, Apple China's official website launched a rare event preview, which will start the "New Year limited time discount" from January 18th to 21st.
According to the official website of Apple, purchasing a specified product through a payment method that meets the conditions can save up to 800 yuan. Among them, the iPhone 15 series was reduced by 500 yuan, and the MacBook Air was reduced by 800 yuan.
It is reported that this activity is only for end user consumers to use Alipay, Huabei, WeChat payment, or use China Merchants Bank, China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China or other credit cards with the logo of Visa and MasterCard and pay in a specific way. It is not allowed to enjoy this activity together with any other promotions, discounts or concessions. Each customer is limited to 2 items per product category.
It should be noted that the number of products available for this promotion in the Apple Store retail store is limited (30000 iPhone products, 5200 iPad products, 750 Mac laptop products, 1000 Apple Watch products, 2500 AirPods products, and 540 Apple Pencil products), and will be sold out.
At the market level, the Hong Kong stock market's Apple concept fell collectively during the trading session today, with BYD Electronics dropping more than 5% at one point, Shunyu Optical Technology falling more than 3%, and Gaowei Electronics falling more than 2%.
Sales plummeted by 30%
At the same time as the official announcement of price reduction, Apple's sales in the Chinese market are accelerating their decline.
According to the latest report by investment bank Jefferies, due to fierce competition from local Chinese brands, especially Huawei's strong return to the high-end market after the release of the Mate 60 series in August 2023, iPhone sales in the Chinese market decreased significantly by 30% in the first week of 2024 compared to the same period last year.
The report points out that although the new models of Apple's iPhone 15 series have lowered prices on multiple e-commerce platforms, their sales are still significantly declining. Among them, on the Pinduoduo platform, the price reduction of this series is as high as 16%.
Jefferies analysts believe that in the Chinese market, Apple's year-on-year decline in 2023 was 3%, which is equivalent to a 0.4% decrease in Apple's market share.
On one hand, there is Apple's declining market share, while on the other hand, Chinese mobile phone brands are competing to capture Apple's high-end market. From the market share rankings in recent months, although Apple still ranks among the top, its market share and sales have been decreasing year-on-year.
According to data from market research firm BCI, in November 2023, in the high-end mobile phone market priced above 4000 yuan, Apple still ranked first, occupying more than half of the market share. Huawei ranked second with 22.3%, and Xiaomi ranked third with 14.4%. However, Apple fell by 21.2% year-on-year, while Huawei and Xiaomi rose by 8.8% and 11.8% respectively.
Based on the data of the Chinese mobile phone market in the third quarter of 2023, according to IDC, although a new iPhone 15 series was released during the third quarter of last year, the market response was lower than expected. Apple's market share in the third quarter was 16%, a year-on-year decrease of 4%, ranking third. In contrast, other domestic brands have seen varying degrees of year-on-year slight increase in market share.
This means that in the high-end mobile phone market in China, Apple users are shifting towards domestic mobile phone brands.
It is worth noting that Apple's heavyweight product Vision Pro will be launched on February 2nd in all Apple retail stores and Apple online stores in the United States, with a starting price of $3499 (approximately RMB 25000).
At WWDC in 2023, Apple launched the Apple Vision Pro, marking its first major new product attempt since the launch of the Apple Watch in 2014.
At present, Apple has not announced the specific release date of Vision Pro in the Chinese market.