Smartphone sales in China fell 13% year-on-year during the month-long 618 shopping festival, as brands raised prices to offset higher memory costs, according to data from Counterpoint Research. And Apple didn’t dodge the bullet.
Sales declined from May 26 to June 21. Higher memory prices amid a rapid build-out of AI infrastructure have pushed up handset costs this year, leaving brands with less room to offer steep discounts during the 618 festival, seen as a barometer for the country’s booming e-commerce sector, notes Counterpoint Research.
“Some older and newer models from Chinese smartphone brands were priced higher than comparable models a year earlier, while discounts during this year’s 618 festival were generally less aggressive, both in terms of the size of price cuts and the range of products covered,” said Ivan Lam, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research. “Apple’s prices were broadly unchanged, but its discounts were also smaller.”
The iPhone maker began its promotional campaign about one month ahead of the 618 day, offering total savings of up to CNY 2,000 on the iPhone 17 Pro series through a combination of official discounts, platform promotions and trade-in incentives. The price cuts quickly translated into stronger sales, lifting Apple to the No.2 spot in the market. Despite the sequential rebound, sales were still down 9% year-over-year, “primarily due to the more aggressive promotional activity for the iPhone 16 series in the same period last year,” according to Counterpoint Research.
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