China's E-commerce Platform Offers Gede-Gedean Discount For IPhone 15

IPhone 15 sells cheaply in China. (photo: dock. apple)

JAKARTA - China's e-commerce platform including JD.com, PDD Holdings' Pinduoduo, and Alibaba's Taoba offer big discounts for Apple's latest iPhone 15, with offers of up to 1,501 yuan (Rp3,2) below retail price.

Analysts say that the iPhone 15 didn't sell as well as its predecessor in China. Counterpoint Research said last week that iPhone 15 sales in China fell 4.5% compared to the iPhone 14, in the first 17 days after launching on the market.

In China, Apple sometimes allows partner vendors to offer discounts to stimulate demand. But China's e-commerce platform is also involved in a battle "money value" as consumers narrow their belts amid a slowdown in the economy, with price drops being the main focus of the upcoming Singles Day annual shopping festival.

JD.com sold the iPhone 15 512 GB at a price of 7,498 yuan, 1,501 yuan lower than Apple's official price of 8,999 yuan. Responding to the discount, the company said it was in line with the strategy launched this year to offer low prices.

Pinduoduo offers a 128 GB version of the iPhone 15 Plus at a price of 6,098 yuan, 900 yuan lower than Apple's retail price of 6,999 yuan, according to an inspection conducted by Reuters.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max 512 GB, which has a price of 11,999 yuan in Apple stores, can be purchased for 10,698 yuan on Alibaba's e-commerce platform Taobao. Apple, Pinduoduo, and Alibaba did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The iPhone 15 discount from the e-commerce platform was first reported by the weekly newspaper Economic Observer on Monday, October 23.