Apple to open its first online store in India next week

Apple will launch its first online store in India next week, the Silicon Valley giant said on Friday, hoping to take advantage on the country's festive season and grow its tiny share of the booming market.

The company may be a small player in India, where sales of its smartphones lag those of South Korean rival Samsung, with the iPhone maker pricing itself exclusively at the posh end of the market.

Its renewed push into India comes as Asia's third-largest economy has hit a record slump thanks to a months-long coronavirus lockdown.

India's busiest shopping season usually kicks off in October, with stores offering steep discounts and freebies to customers looking to splurge on big-ticket items as they celebrate popular Hindu festivals including Dussehra and Diwali.

Apple's online store, which can open for business on September 23, will offer “a range of affordability options” including discounts on Macs, iPads and tech accessories for college kids , the corporate said during a handout .

Shoppers are going to be ready to get their AirPods, iPads and Apple Pencils engraved in English, Hindi and a variety of other Indian languages.

Apple currently sells through third-party retailers in India including Amazon, and therefore the country is seen as an enormous potential marketplace for the firm thanks to its giant 1.3 billion population and comparatively low number of smartphone owners.

The company has only a two per cent share of the Indian market, consistent with industry estimates.

An application to open Apple Stores in India in 2016 was reportedly rebuffed due to a rule that states foreign retailers must source 30pc of their products locally.

New Delhi has since relaxed the principles , giving companies up to eight years to satisfy the sourcing requirements, as a part of a push to draw in foreign investment and make jobs.

Some of its smartphones, including the iPhone 11, are assembled at facilities operated by Taiwanese manufacturers Foxconn and Wistron within the southern Indian cities of Chennai and Bangalore.