The iPhone 16 encountered a "breakthrough" on e-commerce platforms upon its release.
After a fierce pre-sale battle last night, this morning e-commerce platforms launched a new round of subsidy wars. Tmall, Pinduoduo and other platforms have all been discontinued, with subsidized models covering both old and new iPhone models.
On the evening of September 13th at 8pm, Apple officially started pre-sales. The corresponding prices for iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max are starting at 5999 yuan, 6999 yuan, 7999 yuan, and 9999 yuan, respectively.
(Image source: Apple official website)
On the morning of September 14th, Pinduoduo immediately launched a promotion: a subsidy of billions of yuan will be given to the iPhone 16 series, with a starting reduction of 400 yuan and a maximum direct reduction of 1000 yuan, achieving a price reduction upon the launch of the entire series.
Among them, the initial launch price of iPhone 16 on the official website starts at 5999 yuan, and the subsidy price of Pinduoduo starts at 5399 yuan, a direct decrease of 600 yuan; IPhone 16 Plus (512GB), with a starting price of 9999 yuan on the official website and a subsidy price of 8999 yuan from Pinduoduo, saves 1000 yuan,
In addition, AirPods 4 (with active noise cancellation support) will be reduced by 200 yuan, Apple Watch S10 series will be reduced by 300 yuan, and Apple Watch Ultra2 series will be reduced by 500 yuan. In addition, there are corresponding subsidies for products such as the iPhone 15 series, the previous generation Apple Watch, and Airpods.
For products with billions of subsidies, Pinduoduo promises to guarantee free shipping from SF Express, genuine invoices, and a 10% compensation for fake products.
(Source: Pinduoduo's billion dollar subsidy)
On the Pinduoduo Billion Subsidy interface, it is displayed that since the promotion was included in the Apple iPhone, the billion subsidy iPhone has sold a total of 14.767 million+units. It is reported that since 2019, breaking the price for the first release of the iPhone has been a tradition for Pinduoduo every year.
On the afternoon of September 14th, Taobao and Tmall platforms followed up on subsidy activities. It is reported that the official flagship store of Tmall Apple Store offers 24 interest free installment payments for new products. Tmall's official response to Time Finance stated that this is the first time Tmall's official flag has supported interest free pricing during the launch period of a new product. In addition, Tmall provides an additional subsidy of up to 1200 yuan for purchasing a new iPhone through trade in.
According to Taobao, the pre-sales of iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max were the most popular last night, especially the Desert Gold version. The first batch of goods sold out immediately, and Tmall has added replenishment overnight, with up to 15 times within an hour. The official flagship store of Tmall Apple Store has gained 420000 followers in just 3 days from the release of new products to pre orders, and currently has 26.45 million followers.
This year, Apple's new phone sales have basically covered various types of top platforms. JD, Tmall, Pinduoduo and other traditional e-commerce, Tiktok, Kwai and other live e-commerce, as well as Hunglemai, Meituan and other delivery platforms have channels to purchase.
JD.com has launched a 16 price protection 11.11 service for purchasing designated A+member version iPhone, promising to purchase A+member version products within the specified period. If the price drops during 11.11, customers can apply for price protection. The price for A+members is 99 yuan, with a duration of 1 year. In addition to price protection, users can also enjoy services such as a 94% discount on accessories and App Store recharge discounts.
In addition, instant retail channels have also actively joined the battle of purchasing platforms.
Meituan Flash Shopping is one of the earliest instant retail platforms that Apple authorized stores have joined, and the cooperation between the two parties began in 2020.
This year, as of the start of pre-sales, the number of people subscribing to the "pre-sale start reminder" for the iPhone 16 series at authorized Meituan Apple stores has significantly increased compared to last year; Among them, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is the most popular and has the highest number of subscribers.
According to Meituan, nearly 7000 authorized Apple stores have joined Meituan flash sales nationwide this year. Among them, the number of stores participating in the first batch of pre-sales has doubled compared to last year, and more third - and fourth tier cities, counties, and other lower tier markets have joined. After the official launch on September 20th, the new phone will be received within 30 minutes at the earliest.
Ele.me and Huabei have launched interest free options for the full range of Apple's new products in phases 3, 6, and 12, as well as customized delivery services including sealed packaging and dedicated delivery.
According to data from Ele.me, within just 10 minutes of the pre-sale opening, the overall sales of the brand have exceeded the monthly sales of September last year. Half an hour after the pre-sale started, the sales revenue has exceeded the daily sales revenue by 41 times. As of 8pm on the 13th, the search volume for "iPhone" on the entire website has increased nearly 100 times compared to the previous period.
The White Paper on Instant Retail Consumer Electronics Industry shows that instant retail has become an important way for mobile phone brands to launch new products and expand their market size. In recent years, the consumer electronics category has experienced rapid growth in the instant retail market. From 2021 to 2026, the compound annual growth rate is expected to reach 68.5%, and the scale of the instant retail consumer electronics industry is expected to exceed 100 billion by 2026.
However, currently there are no promotional subsidies available on instant retail platforms for new Apple devices, and the related promotional activities mainly target old devices. For example, Ele.me provided a subsidy of 4399-1300 yuan for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, and after receiving it, the price of this previous generation flagship model will come to 8699 yuan.
Kwai, which also has great influence in the sinking market, has also provided the iPhone with an activity of 6999 minus 1000. However, the subsidy does not cover the iPhone 16 series, but the iPhone 15 Plus.
In addition to the various gameplay of e-commerce platforms, as a traditional channel for cooperation with Apple, operators are also actively joining the subsidy war.
After the release of iPhone 16, the carrier also offered discounted packages. On September 10th, Shenzhen Mobile launched pre-sale registration, offering a maximum subsidy of 1000 yuan for trade in.
(Image source: Shenzhen Mobile)
There are also relevant policies for telecommunications channels. Sales personnel from Guangdong Telecom told Time Finance reporters, "New phones will also have discounts, but it depends on the user's package
In addition, previous times financial reporters visited offline mobile phone authorization stores, and the stores stated that the government still provides subsidies for purchasing phones.
According to the "Implementation Plan on Using Super Long term Special treasury bond Funds to Boost Support Consumer Goods Trade in" issued by Guangdong, individual consumers will be subsidized to purchase mobile phones, tablets, and smart wearables. The mobile phone subsidy standard is 10% of the product sales price, and each subsidy will not exceed 1000 yuan.