The technology giant Apple are looking into the possibility of opening some of its US retail stores in the next few days.
Apple shut down all of its retail stores outside of China in mid-March, exacerbating a sinking demand picture for the company’s devices, however the website is still fully operational and products can be purchased with ease.
Analysts are now anticipating a sharp drop in device sales this quarter owing to supply and demand disruptions tied to the coronavirus pandemic, with consumers worldwide expected to spend far less on personal devices and other goods.
In the meantime, Apple is taking other measures to boost lagging demand, such as offering discounts on phones in China and has recently released a new version of the iPhone SE aimed at more budget-conscious consumers.
“Trips to the mall are a thing of January and February — not March, April, and probably not May, either,” Beck said. “We would expect that consumers are going to be avoiding spaces where there are large gatherings — and they’re going to be dealing with a different economic environment, spending less at retail establishments, Apple included.”
“Given limited visibility on store operations, refraining from issuing specific guidance for F3Q should not come as a surprise to investors and will be consistent with recent precedent by other companies,” analyst Samik Chatterjee wrote.
