Specialist Apple retailer iStore, says its programme allowing people to trade in old devices as part payment for new ones is helping to push up sales in stores, particularly of iPhones.
As the only premium reseller of Apple products in Africa, iStore has to conform and adhere to a number of standards set by the US company. This is why iStore tends to carry the same look and feel as Apple’s retail locations.
Even then, the company still has to fight stiff competition from mobile operators and a number of electronics retailers also selling Apple stock.
To this end, iStore chief commercial officer Linda van der Nest told Business Day the business had created a number of products and services locally to stand out.
“SA is a unique place. We’ve developed a lot locally, especially around things like our trade-in programme, products like iCare, which you won’t find anywhere else in the world. Yes, you’ll get trade-in in other parts of the world, but you won’t get the values that you get in SA.”
According to research firm StatCounter, Apple is the second-largest smartphone vendor in SA with 16.2% of the market. Samsung is the largest with about 53%.
Data from SA’s mobile operators, Vodacom, MTN, Telkom and Cell C, indicates there are more than 70-million smartphone connections in SA.
Van der Nest said iStore recently experienced a record quarter of iPhone sales, driven by momentum from its trade-in programme.
“It’s something that’s enabled people to get their hands on the latest devices a lot sooner. Some people would wait two or three years, sometimes four years to upgrade their iPhone … because it comes at a price,” she said.
iStore’s trade-in programme offers customers up to R22,000 in cash back when they trade in an old phone, meaning they pay a small amount to top up for a new device. Customers can also get the trade-in value as cash into their bank account up to 30 days after their iPhone purchase.
“With our trade-in programme, we’ve seen customers coming every year to upgrade their phone.”
According to Van der Nest, SA continued to grow as a market for Apple products, despite the hefty price tags that the brand is associated with.
Local sales growth has also upped SA’s importance in Apple’s rollout of new products.
Whereas in the past new Apple products would only arrive in SA some time after their US releases, the country has started to have the latest devices on hand at the same time as the global release.
Most recently, the iPhone 16e was available in SA on February 28, the launch day, with other top global markets.
“Actually, with the iPhone 16 launched in September last year, it was the first time that iPhone launched on exactly the same day as the US and other major markets, and then that’s now been repeated with 16e,” Van der Nest said.
In addition to trade-ins, the iStore executive said their business had benefited from Apple’s strategy of keeping certain old models in place, at a lower price. Apple is now focused on its iPhone 16 range, made up of the 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max and 16e. The company has kept the iPhone 13, 14 and 15 in its line-up, doing away with just the “Pro” and “Pro Max” of those generations.
This means the company has products available at various price points, from R11,000 to about R43,000.
“We’ve really seen great success in our business around the launch of iPhone 16. But at the same time, we’ve also seen something like iPhone 13 … bringing a new layer of Apple customers into our stores, for just R10,999,” she said.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.