The Apple Holiday Gift Guide: More Free Shipping

November 11, 2016 by Douglas A. McIntyre

As a means to boost sales during the critical holiday season, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) plans to offset what may be slow iPhone 7 sales with a number of its products aimed at year-end shoppers. What would online shopping be without free shipping? Apple has its own version.

Apple’s free shipping plan is not very attractive, although it is like a number of others: Free two-day delivery for items in stock. Orders need to be made before 5 p.m. Apple has several free shipping options:

Get free next-day delivery on any in-stock iPhone and free two-day delivery on almost everything else. Faster options are also available.

In other words, the iPhone is special, and consumers can pay more to speed shipping of other items.

Pick up most items — usually within an hour — or let us know if someone else is picking up for you. We can even help set up your new Apple products.

Other large retailers like this option because it saves their costs of providing free shipping.

We offer same-day courier delivery in certain locations for in-stock Apple products. You can select this option at checkout if it’s available.

The very expensive option. For example, next day shipping costs $17 to $20, in some cases.

One would think Apple’s products would be enough and the company would not have to resort to free shipping, but some products may have particularly slow sales in the fourth quarter. First among these is Apple Watch. Apple is pushing the entire smartwatch family in hopes the holidays will give it some modest help. And iPhone 7 holiday sales are essential to Apple’s revenue and its investors.

Free two-day shipping, even from Apple.

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