China Singles Day shopping festival, iPhone sales drop

China's annual Singles Day shopping festival has again seen Apple's iPhone sales decline year over year.

Singles dDay used to regularly see record-breaking sales for the iPhone, with one vendor selling 156 million of the iPhone 13 in the first two seconds of its sale in 2021. With increased competition from local brands, Apple had a disappointing 2023 with a 4% decline in sales year over year.

Now according to Counterpoint Research, it's fared even worse for the 2024 Singles Day festival. While not listing a specific figure, Counterpoint claims that Apple "declined YoY by double-digit percentages."

That means Apple's sales slumped at least twice as much as they did for the previous year. That's despite Apple heading in to the two-week shopping season with a quite rare discount on the iPhone 16 range.

Counterpoint also does not give any indication of actual sales, it solely describes percentage gains or reductions. Reportedly, Apple and HONOR both saw declines of 10% or more compared to 2023, and Huawei grew by 7%.

One reason for Apple's decline is what Counterpoint describes as "an abnormally high number of competitor flagships" that were launched just ahead, or even during, the festival.

Nonetheless, according to Reuters, Apple was one of 45 brands that sold over $138 million at China's largest reseller, the Alibaba Group. Alibaba also claimed that the 2024 Singles Day saw "robust growth" in sales, and even a "record number" of shoppers.

The decline for Apple does, though, come as overall smartphone sales also dropped for Singles Day.