Roger Fingas
In a Friday interview, Apple retail head Angela Ahrendts said she's instructed clerks not to try and upsell people on the iPhone X, which starting at $999 may be out of reach for many people.
"Internally we said the tagline was 'an iPhone for everyone,'" Ahrendts told CNBC. "I prefer that we ask you who you're buying it for. If they're 6 or 7 years old, what do they need? If it's someone who's leaning into something else, what do they need? We do that with Mac, we do that with iPad, why wouldn't we do that with [the] phone?"
This year's iPhones are the most expensive the company has ever sold, with even an entry-level iPhone 8 costing $699. A 256-gigabyte version of the iPhone X will cost $1,149, more than some versions of the iMac and MacBook Air.
Preorders for the iPhone X will start Oct. 27 ahead of a Nov. 3 launch. Units are expected to be in very short supply, which could make the product hard to find at retail regardless.
Ahrendts separately commented on the prospect of automation and/or online shopping killing retail stores and their jobs.
"There is a purpose. People want the human connection, they want a place to pick up their products," she said, citing Amazon's own physical stores as evidence. "I think the onus is on retailers, the onus is on us to continue to evolve."
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60 Comments
Good honest company.
Oh, how thoughtful.
/s
Why would Apple try to up-sell to a product relatively few people will be able to obtain due to production constraints, when an overabundance of the 8/Plus is available?
"If it's someone who's leaning into something else, what do they need?"
Can someone translate this into normal English?Customer: I'm interested in buying an iPhone.
Apple salesperson: Who are you buying the iPhone for?
Customer: I'm buying it for someone who's leaning into something else.
Apple salesperson: [slight pause as they remember AA's guidance] What do they need?
Leaning into something else>> considering a phone that isn’t an iPhone. Simple really. The comparison shopper.