Apple Might Launch Its Online Store In H2 2020: Report

Despite the fact that the Indian government is trying hard to bring investment in the country, investors are taking their time to invest in India. And now, a new report claims that Apple is delaying its plans to set up its online stores in India.

Earlier, the company was planning to set up its online store in the first quarter of this year. But, now they will bring in August- September, as it is completing its backend work. After that, it will launch its stores before the festive season, and there are chances that Apple will launch new products at that time, reports Economic Times.

The report reveals that CEO Tim Cook is also planning to visit India. The CEO is expected to see the manufacturing expansion, exports, and launch of its online and offline stores. Besides, Cook is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Since over 30 percent of iPhone sales in India is generated from e-commerce sites like Flipkart and Amazon, the company wants to time the India launch around the launch of new iPhones," sources close to the development was quoted by the newspaper.

Furthermore, the report reveals that the company will first set up its online store in India and the brick-mortar store in 2021, as setting up offline stores takes time. However, there is no official information about the announcement.

"However, volumes may not be strong since Indian consumers still prefer to buy an iPhone either from a store or when there is a huge discount on online marketplaces. The online store can fulfill the demand if there is a demand for a particular color or memory variant," Market researcher Counterpoint Research associate director Tarun Pathak said. Meanwhile, Counterpoint said that Apple is now the fastest smartphone brand in the Q4 of 2019.

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