Apple has announced that it is participating in this year’s Black Friday shopping holiday. It made this known while teasing a one-day deals via a new web page. It would be recalled that last year, Apple sat out the holiday shopping event, it said its decision was in line with its mission to be “good to…employees.”
When Innovation Village checked, the new site did not have much information on what deals will be available, but it was promoting the company’s Apple Store App and free two-day delivery while also encouraging consumers to check their local store’s extended hours. Retail store hours will differ by location, but many will offer expanded opening and closing times throughout the holidays in order to handle the increased foot traffic.
Apple’s focus on e-commerce sales is evidenced on the new Black Friday teaser page, which says that sales that take place during this one-day event will include free shipping, if orders are placed before 5 PM. The site doesn’t clarify if that’s 5 PM EST or PST, so it’s assumed that means 5 PM local time.
The new page also points to a handful of curated gift collections, including music gifts, photography gifts, toys and games, and Apple gifts – the latter which is simply a listing of its top devices like iPhone, iPad, Macbook, Apple Watch, Apple TV and various accessories.
Last year, Apple’s SVP of Retail and Online Stores Angela Ahrendts explained Apple’s decision to exit the shopping holiday because “being good to your employees will always be good for business.” TechCrunch noted that Apple’s new stance doesn’t necessarily mean those values of treating employees well have fallen by the wayside, but rather that Apple may have simply not liked what it saw in terms of the financial impact that came from sitting the event out.
