Wal-Mart offers iPhones at paltry $2 discount
By Erna Mahyuni
Wal-Mart started selling iPhones on Sunday, and shoppers looking for a bargain would be sorely disappointed. The phones are selling for only $2 below the regular list price.
MSNBC reported that Wal-Mart would match lower-priced offers from competitors. Best Buy frequenters could likely bring over an ad, showing that Best Buy sells the phones $9 cheaper than list prices. Wal-Mart currently offers the black 8GB model for $197 and the 16GB version (black and white) for $297. The standard caveats of the two-year service agreement with AT&T applies, as well as the standard qualified upgrade for existing customers.
When you see the rather sad discounts, you wonder what the point is for Wal-Mart to stock the phones in the first place. Who exactly is making the better deal here? Certainly Apple will benefit from having its phones available in what is arguably the most popular discount chain in the US. But as it already has cornered the market in smartphones, despite RIM’s best efforts with its BlackBerries, Apple could benefit from but won’t need Wal-Mart to sell its phones.
As Wal-Mart is likely working on a consignment basis with the iPhones, there’s no real loss of money on their backs from poor iPhone sales. You also have to question the timing of the iPhone sales – why wait till after Christmas instead of making the most of holiday spending fever? Wal-Mart recorded good sales over the Christmas period as shoppers flocked to the discount outlet, aiming to get more bang for their bucks.
Perhaps this is just part of Apple’s move to finally break out of just stocking their goods in very limited locales or dedicated boutiques. But will this spell the end of Apple Stores? That’s highly unlikely, seeing the popularity of those stores as showcases for Apple products as well as convenient places for tech support. Predictions – that the Wal-Mart deal might just fizzle out by mid-year if sales numbers aren’t encouraging.
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