Apple’s iPhone sales fall during China’s Singles’ Day shopping festival, report shows

The event’s two-week sales period saw ‘a double-digit, year-on-year decline’ in iPhone sales amid stiff competition from Chinese rivals

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This year’s Singles’ Day debacle for Apple reflects the continued cutthroat competition in China, the world’s biggest smartphone market. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 6:00pm, 21 Nov 2024

Apple saw a sharp decrease in iPhone sales across China during this year’s Singles’ Day, the world’s biggest shopping festival, amid stiff competition from mainland smartphone rivals and weak domestic consumption, according to a new report.

The country’s two-week Singles’ Day sales period this year yielded “a double-digit, year-on-year decline in iPhone sales”, as Apple “faced pressure from an abnormally high number” of new flagship smartphone models that domestic competitors launched just before and during the annual shopping extravaganza, according to a report published on Wednesday by Counterpoint Research.

The report did not provide the exact percentage drop or the fewer number of iPhone sales that Counterpoint tracked during the event’s sales period, which ran from October 28 to November 10.

This year’s Singles’ Day debacle for Apple, which saw iPhone 16 prices slashed as part of online promotions, reflects the continued cutthroat competition in the world’s biggest smartphone market, where major Chinese handset vendors have already launched on-device artificial intelligence (AI) ahead of the US tech giant.

The new iPhone 16 series on display at an Apple Store in Shanghai. Photo: Shutterstock

Overall, Singles’ Day smartphone sales this year fell 9 per cent compared with last year, as market demand and consumers’ enthusiasm for promotions have been subdued by economic headwinds, according to the Counterpoint report.

Still, Apple’s latest flagship iPhone series has proved popular on the mainland since it hit store shelves in September. The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max were the bestselling models during the two-week festival, the report said.