Apple and Amazon are cozying up in a deal that will see the tech giant significantly expand the availability of its hardware on the shopping site.
The agreement covers Apple’s latest devices, including the iPhone XS and XR, the iPad Pro, and the Apple Watch Series 4, as reported by CNET. Notably, Apple’s HomePod smart speaker will not appear on the site, a move designed to prevent the HomePod competing directly with Amazon’s Echo alternative.
As of now, Apple offers very few of its products on Amazon, with most items sold by third-party sellers instead.
Apple gear will land on Amazon’s site in the coming weeks for online shoppers in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, and India, and will also include its range of Beats headphones.
While those intent on purchasing Apple kit can simply head straight to Apple’s online store, adding its products to Amazon’s site could help the company bag even more sales as shoppers without any particular brand in mind peruse the platform in search of a phone, tablet, laptop or smartwatch. The agreement should also benefit Amazon as shoppers visiting the site for Apple devices could end up purchasing other items, too, or even a Prime subscription if they don’t have one already.
The deal is a blow for third-party sellers that currently offer Apple goods on Amazon as they will soon be prevented from doing so. Only Apple-authorized resellers will have permission to offer the company’s products on Amazon’s site, according to the terms of the agreement. Third-party sellers will reportedly lose their listings for new and used Apple products on January 4, 2019, and have been asked by Amazon to apply to Apple to become authorized resellers, though the chances of such businesses receiving the green light from the tech company aren’t clear at this stage.
Cnet notes that the upcoming changes don’t affect Amazon’s Renewed program, which offers refurbished tech products that have been officially inspected and tested.
“Amazon is constantly working to enhance the customer experience, and one of the ways we do this is by increasing the selection of the products we know customers want,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement, adding that it was looking forward to expanding its assortment of Apple gear to online shoppers around the world.
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