After years of anticipation, Apple may be finally ready to set up its online store in India. According to a recent TechCrunch report, the Cupertino giant’s online store operations could go live in Q3 of this year.
As per TechCrunch’s sources, Apple is currently working on the logistics to kickstart its online retail operations and the deadline for the process is between July and September. The report also mentions that Apple CEO Tim Cook is likely to come to India for announcing the store later this year when it is ready.
What’s more, Apple is reportedly working on setting up its first physical store in the country as well. The store is expected to be situated in Mumbai. It is uncertain if this physical Apple store would be ready by this year.
It is worth noting that this is not the first time we are hearing about Apple’s plans to launch its store in the country. Apple was expected to launch its store back in 2017. We did not hear any news about Apple’s store until last August when the Indian government relaxed its policies for single-brand retailers in the country.
As you might be aware, Apple currently sells its devices through third-party offline retail partners and e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, and Paytm Mall. Online retailers often offer huge discounts on Apple products, which Apple apparently does not entertain despite the boost in sales. With this official store, we could witness a decline in discounted iPhones.
Nevertheless, Apple’s decision to kickstart its online operations now in India probably won’t wrong as India is the second-largest smartphone market in the world with almost 158 million smartphone shipments in 2019.
