The Trump administration’s threat of massive new tariffs has sent Apple Inc.’s share price plummeting, but it also brought a short-term benefit: customers rushing to retail stores to buy iPhones.
Employees from different Apple locations across the country reported stores filled with customers over the weekend – with shoppers expressing concerns that prices will climb dramatically after the levies are imposed. Most iPhones, Apple’s best-selling and most important product, are manufactured in China, which is facing tariffs of 54%.
Panic Buying and Preparation for Impact
One employee said their store was flooded with people panic-buying phones: “Almost every customer asked me if prices were going to go up soon,” said the worker, who requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. Though stores didn’t see the typical lines associated with an iPhone launch, the atmosphere resembled the busy holiday season, employees agreed.
This shopping frenzy has translated into higher sales. Apple’s US retail stores saw higher sales over the past weekend than in previous years, at least in some major markets. An Apple spokesperson declined to comment on the situation. Apple will report its second fiscal quarter results on May 1, giving CEO Tim Cook and CFO Kevan Parekh an opportunity to discuss the impact of expected tariffs.
Key Impacts and Responses:
- Apple’s valuation fell by more than half a trillion dollars in the final two trading days of last week
- The company is taking steps to prepare for tariffs, including stockpiling inventory
- Apple is redirecting more devices made in India to the US market
- The firm has been shifting more production to Vietnam, which will have a lower tariff than China
- Analysts speculate about the impact of a 54% Chinese tariff on prices, with some predicting iPhones could cost thousands of dollars
Apple’s flagship retail store on Fifth Avenue in New York was busy Monday afternoon. Ambar De Elia, a Buenos Aires native visiting New York, was already planning to buy an iPhone 15 for her younger sister. But when she woke up this morning and saw the news about Wall Street, she thought now was the best time to spend.
“I think everyone is here because of the fear, they don’t know what’s going to happen,” De Elia said. “If we have the possibility to buy something at a lower price, of course we are going to.”
