Apple's iPhone shipments to China rose 12 percent in March after the company and its retailers cut prices, according to data from a Chinese government-affiliated research firm.
Shipments of foreign-brand phones in China rose 12 percent in March to 3.75 million units from 3.35 million a year earlier, data from the Academy of Technology showed China Information and Communications (CAICT) released on Wednesday.
Although the data did not explicitly mention Apple, the company is the dominant foreign phone maker in China's smartphone-dominated market. This suggests that the increase in shipments of foreign-brand phones can be attributed to Apple's performance.
Apple's March sales surge followed an intensified discounting effort led by the company and third-party sellers in the run-up to the month, with some iPhone 15 models being offered at discounts of up to 10 percent
The price cuts appear to have spurred demand and contributed to the company's growth in the Chinese market. That represents a significant turnaround from the first two months of 2024, when Apple saw a 37 percent drop in sales, according to Reuters calculations based on CAICT data.
In the first quarter of this year, Apple's smartphone shipments to China fell 19 percent, marking its worst performance since 2020, according to research firm Counterpoint. The main reason for Apple's sales decline was the launch and successful sales of a high-end smartphone by Huawei in August last year.
Apple's sales of $16.37 billion (about $1.36693 billion) for the fiscal second quarter ended March 30 in the Greater China region, down 8.1%, but above analyst expectations of $15.59 billion (roughly Rs. 1,30,180 crore). Visible Alpha data was shown.
© Thomson Reuters 2024
