07.11.2023
Apple has launched an online store in China's WeChat app, the Tencent-owned social media platform has announced (via Reuters). China's dominant messaging app will host the Apple store via one
China's dominant messaging app will host the Apple store via one of its mini-programs, which typically offers e-commerce, financial, and live-streaming services to WeChat's over 1.2 billion users.
Customers will be able to purchase the full line of Apple products including iPhones, iPads, and Macs on the store. Orders via WeChat are eligible for free shipping, and some users can pay for three-hour delivery and access Apple's trade-in program.
The move follows a pattern of Apple branching out its sales in China by turning to social media platforms, which Chinese consumers increasingly use to shop.
As Reuters points out, Apple already operates a similar shop on Tencent-rival Alibaba Group's Tmall online marketplace, while JD.com, China's second-largest online retailer, is an official Apple reseller. Apple also tried marketing its products on a livestream in China in May for the first time with an hour-long show.
China's smartphone sales in the first quarter fell 5% year on year, marking the lowest first-quarter sales figure for the country since 2014, according to data from Counterpoint Research cited by Reuters.
However, the research firm said Apple bucked the trend in the same quarter by recording a 19.9% share of the Chinese smartphone market – its biggest since 2014 – as it increased sales by 6% year-on-year in a declining market.
This article, "Apple Launches Online Store on China's WeChat Platform" first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums
You may also be interested in this
Trade tensions stall Appl…
06.04.2025
Amid regulatory limbo and "increasing political uncertainties," trade tensions stall Apple Intelligence rollout in China. (via Cult of Mac - A 24/7 website publishing the latest Apple news, rumors, reviews,
US-China trade war threat…
08.28.2023
As U.S.-China relations continue to sour, the way Macs, iPhones, iPads, and other Apple devices are made is changing, and that shift threatens to push up prices for customers. Alyssa
iPhone 16 Lineup Sees $35…
05.15.2025
The iPhone 16 lineup is now being sold at discounts of over $350 on major Chinese e-commerce platforms, as the company and its retail partners move to stimulate demand in
China’s Apple loss is Ind…
05.25.2023
Apple added five new mainland Chinese suppliers while removing eight in mainland China in its latest financial year ended September 2022, after China’s strict Covid-19 controls disrupted iPhone production last
Apple Joins China Subsidy…
06.24.2025
Apple has joined China's national digital product subsidy program through its own direct sales channels for the first time, enabling eligible customers in Beijing and Shanghai to receive government-backed discounts
Apple CEO Tim Cook gets C…
10.19.2023
Apple CEO Tim Cook won backing from China’s commerce minister Wednesday for sharing the “dividends of the Chinese market.” : Commerce Minister Wang Wentao told Cook Wednesday that China
Apple Music Classical deb…
01.09.2024
Apple Music Classical for iPhone According to a post from Apple on X, Apple Music Classical will be available in Japan, China, Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan starting January
Apple’s new iPhone sales …
10.18.2024
iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max feature a 48MP Fusion camera, a 48MP Ultra Wide camera, and the 5x Telephoto camera, now available on both models. Apple’s new
