Apple opens store on China’s WeChat platform

The announcement was made by China’s leading messaging app WeChat. The company said that the store will allow users to buy Apple products including iPhone, iPad and Mac from the store.

As reported by Reuters, Apple’s move comes as Chinese consumers are increasingly turning to social media platforms such as WeChat and ByteDance’s Douyin, which is the Chinese version. TIC TocPurchase

In addition to its own stores and website, Apple already operates a shop on Alibaba Group’s Tmall online marketplace. Apple attempted to market its products over livestreams in China for the first time in May with a one-hour show.

China’s smartphone sales fell 5% year over year in the first quarter, according to data from Counterpoint Research, marking the lowest first-quarter sales figures for the country since 2014.

However, Apple recorded a 19.9% ​​stake during the quarter chinese smartphone The market – its biggest since 2014 – as it posted a 6% year-over-year sales increase in a falling market, the research firm said.

Last month, a US judge rejected Apple’s bid to dismiss a class-action lawsuit accusing Chief Executive Tim Cook of defrauding shareholders by hiding falling demand for iPhones in China.

The ruling by US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers cleared the way for shareholders led by a British pension fund to sue over the one-day decline that wiped $74 billion off Apple’s market value.

The lawsuit stems from comments by Cook on November 1, 2018, in which the analyst said that while Apple faced sales pressure in markets such as Brazil, India, Russia and Turkey where currencies weakened, “I see China as I wouldn’t put it in that category.”

Apple asked suppliers to curtail production a few days later, and on January 2, 2019, unexpectedly cut its quarterly revenue forecast to $9 billion, attributing it to US–China trade tensions.

UPDATE: July 11, 2023, 03:21 PM IST