Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Apple Store (online)

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Type of site
  
Online retailer

Owner
  
Apple Inc.

Website
  
www.apple.com

Available in
  
English

Created by
  
Apple Inc.

Commercial
  
Yes

The Apple Store is the online store of Apple Inc. All of Apple's product lines are carried as well as select brands of accessories for its products. It is owned and operated by Apple from Cupertino, California and their subsidiaries. Besides the online store-front, items from the store can also be ordered by phone.

Contents

As of November 2013, Apple's online store was available in 39 countries, with physical Apple Stores numbering 444 in sixteen countries (263 US/181 elsewhere). They reported global sales of US$16 billion in merchandise in 2011, and led the United States retail market in terms of sales per unit area.

History

Less than a year after acquiring NeXT in the final days of 1996, Apple opened an online store on November 10, 1997, built using NeXT's WebObjects web application technology.

WebObjects enabled Apple to build and deploy its online store within a year. Steve Jobs announced that the new online store received over $12 million in orders in its first month of operation.

On June 15, 2010, Apple released an Apple Store app for iOS. It allows users to buy products, find stores, and make appointments.

In August 2015, Apple's entire website became the online store, with no Store tab. Products can now be purchased with a "Buy" button.

Products sold

  • Hardware, including: iPhone, Apple Watch, iPod Touch, iPad, MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, iMac, Mac Mini, iPod, Apple TV, Apple Cinema Displays, AirPort cards and base stations, Xserve, and Apple accessories such as wireless keyboards and mice. Computer hardware purchased from the Apple Store online, or over the phone can also be configured-to-order with options that often include faster or larger hard drives and faster processors. Build to Order gave customer choice, simplified inventory, and instant availability.
  • Apple Software, including: macOS, iLife and iWork application bundles, Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Shake, and other miscellaneous Apple software titles.
  • Third Party Software made for macOS, such as design software, productivity software, games, utilities, and most new software that has been released for macOS.
  • Select Third Party Accessories for Apple products, ranging from carrying cases for Apple notebooks and iPod sleeves to speakers, printers, scanners, memory upgrades, and digital cameras.
  • Refurbished Hardware, including lower cost, yet completely up to date (in terms of software), variants of the MacBooks, iMacs, Mac minis, iPods and other products. As of August 2009 to the Present Day, there are/were no refurbished iPhones in the online store. However, Apple did sell prototype iPhones for a massive profit for about 3 weeks in 2006.

    • Also available are Apple Instant Loans, as well as gift certificates to both the Apple Store and the iTunes Store. It offers automatic online discounts to "educational" users who include both faculty and students of higher education, and faculty of K-12 schools in addition to discounts for business buyers internationally and United States government employees.

    New products release

    When Apple release new products or performs a maintenance upgrade to their online store, they display a holding page. Per language this page usually displays the following notice:

    References

    Apple Store (online) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA