iPhone 17 faces supply crunch as consumers rush to beat possible price hikes

Apple's iPhone 17 models are running short across retail outlets and online platforms due to a surge in demand on wide expectations of price hikes and a fall in supply of fresh stocks of the base model, retailers said. Market trackers said retail outlets are also fuelling rumours of price hikes, leading to a rush of sales. Discounts on online platforms with limited stocks also led to a spike in purchase.

"Retailers and channels are actively messaging consumers to buy the iPhone 17 now, warning them that a price hike is expected later," said Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint Research. "Our weekly market checks following the recent price hikes by Apple show there is a noticeable demand pull-forward for the iPhone 17 with increased enquiries for stocks and timing of the price hike," he added.

Apple has raised prices of MacBooks, iPads and smart home products, but has not made any announcement on price hikes for iPhones. Retailers said that over the last ten days, inward supply of iPhone 17 models have been short, fuelling a frenzy among buyers to get their hands on them before prices go up.

"People are paying full price without asking for any discounts. Many wanted to buy from Flipkart or Amazon but can't find the right colour or storage," a Delhi-based retailer told ET, asking not to be named.

Apple did not respond to emails seeking comments until press time on Friday.

Market trackers said there was definite momentum in iPhone sales in the April-June quarter amidst a wider expectation that the company may not be launching a new version of the iPhone base model this year, focusing instead on its first foldable iPhone. An industry analyst said early estimates suggest iPhone shipments crossed 3.5 million last quarter, up from 3.1 million a year earlier. The past quarter was also sequentially stronger for iPhone sales from the March quarter.

Promotional sales on Flipkart and Amazon have further driven shipments for the company, said the analyst who requested not to be identified.

The inventory situation comes after Apple's outgoing chief executive Tim Cook said price hikes are unavoidable in the current environment as the consumer electronics industry is grappling with rising component costs and tightening availability of key parts such as memory and storage modules. Soon after, the company raised prices across its Macs, iPads, and smart home products.

iPhone prices have remained unchanged, even though Apple has some withdrawn affordability schemes according to retailers. Supply chain analysts noted that Apple is increasingly paying more to build an iPhone model than before as memory costs have nearly tripled since the start of this year.