American multinational tech firm Apple has lowered its selling price of many iPhone models by as much as 1,700 yuan (US$253) on major Chinese e-commerce sites JD.com, suning.com and GOME.
Newly released models, including iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, are also on sale in Apple’s official stores on those e-commerce websites, sina.com reported. While the price for the cheapest iPhone XS model is still 8,699 yuan on Apple’s official website in mainland China, consumers may buy it for 7,899 yuan on JD.com and 8,088 yuan on GOME.
This is the second time in 2019 that Apple cut iPhone selling prices on Chinese e-commerce sites. In January, sales volume of iPhones on Alibaba’s Tmall.com increased by 76% within two weeks following the announcement of price cuts.
Slower growth of iPhone sales in China last year has hit the company’s financial results. An unnamed industry insider was quoted as saying that although big sales may boost things over the short term, it may negatively impact its high-end brand image.