Apple Store (online)
|
Type of site
|
Online retailer |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Owner | Apple Inc. |
| Created by | Apple Inc. |
| Website | www |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Launched | February 19, 1987 (Apple website) November 10, 1997 (Apple Store) |
| Current status | Online |
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.
As of November 2013[update], 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.
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.
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.
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