蘋果公司遇到了定價困境。據(jù)報道，由于銷售增速不及預(yù)期，蘋果計劃將iPhone X目標(biāo)產(chǎn)量削減一半。如果降低iPhone X售價來刺激銷量，蘋果就有可能損失利潤和高端形象。如果仍按1000美元的單價銷售，這款旗艦產(chǎn)品的銷量就有可能令人失望。

之所以出現(xiàn)定價問題，是因為蘋果將產(chǎn)品線一分為二，一邊是乏善可陳的iPhone 8和iPhone 8 Plus，另一邊則是定價高得多的創(chuàng)新產(chǎn)品iPhone X。這一策略副作用很明顯——iPhone X的亮點沒能吸引足夠消費者，而iPhone 8和8 Plus比起iPhone X的Face ID、OLED屏幕等創(chuàng)新功能立刻黯然失色。

如果降低iPhone X售價，蘋果可能也要被迫下調(diào)iPhone 8/8 Plus的價格，以保持iPhone X的高端定位。如果三款產(chǎn)品全面降價，可能大幅削弱盈利能力，同時也等于蘋果承認新定價標(biāo)準(zhǔn)設(shè)得太高。

那么，蘋果可以采取哪些措施呢？一個方案是采用“汽車經(jīng)銷商策略”，即在銷售渠道中提供激勵手段，威瑞森電信、美國電話電報公司、T-Mobile和百思買等經(jīng)銷商可以推出一些特別套餐，比如200美元的“特別”激勵性折扣。在汽車經(jīng)銷領(lǐng)域，這是新車銷售的主要方式，折扣和特別優(yōu)惠可以降低購車成本，但不會拉低標(biāo)價。通過銷售渠道提供折扣后，蘋果仍然能宣稱以1000美元賣出了手機，這是其他手機廠商想都不敢想的價位，而消費者也弄不明白折扣出自何處。iPhone 8和8 plus的打折幅度可以小一些，比如分別下降100美元和150美元，這樣既可保持價差，還能促進銷售。

要說明的一點是，高檔或獨家產(chǎn)品制造商通常不允許銷售渠道在標(biāo)價的基礎(chǔ)上大幅打折。舉個例子，以Canada Goose羽絨服幾乎從不促銷，也不通過在線折扣零售商銷售。“從不促銷”則向來是路易威登宣傳品牌的口號。如果買iPhone X不用1000美元，還會有優(yōu)越感嗎？

不過，渠道折扣對手機來說并非沒有先例。三星經(jīng)常做短期促銷，Galaxy 8手機就在假期購物旺季推出過特別打折活動。問題在于，這樣做銷售渠道可以把控折扣。零售商可能從蘋果爭取200美元優(yōu)惠后給消費者折扣減半，其中100美元放進自己的腰包。

價格還不是iPhone X的唯一問題。蘋果本打算將其打造成巔峰產(chǎn)品，命名時都直接跳過“9”系列。蘋果還想借iPhone X為手機功能設(shè)立新標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，可以說目標(biāo)并未實現(xiàn)。Face ID非常創(chuàng)新，使用也很順暢，但支撐不了1000美元的價格。OLED屏幕很美，卻并不新鮮。作為蘋果供應(yīng)商，三星所有手機都已采用OLED屏幕（諷刺的是，蘋果銷售不佳意味著三星也會受創(chuàng)。據(jù)說三星為iPhone X提供一塊OLED屏幕可以賺得110美元）。

iPhone X還有個令人討厭的設(shè)計硬傷，為Face ID app設(shè)置的“劉海”打破了無縫OLED全面屏的整體性。毫無疑問，以后蘋果推出新款手機時肯定會想辦法修正這項尷尬的設(shè)計。因此我們要問，9月份蘋果發(fā)布下一批新產(chǎn)品時該怎么做？

蘋果需要升級iPhone 8和8 Plus，而不是保持“二分”市場。三款產(chǎn)品都可以采用OLED屏幕，或者全都加上Face ID功能。蘋果還可以保留iPhone X（或后續(xù)產(chǎn)品）上某一項高端功能，同時配備6英寸或更大的屏幕。關(guān)鍵在于改進iPhone 8和8 plus的功能特性，然后將標(biāo)價分別提高50和100美元。這將讓iPhone X保持高端吸引力，同時縮小iPhone X和其他“小兄弟”產(chǎn)品在功能和價格上的差距。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

莫漢比爾·紹尼是美國西北大學(xué)凱洛格商學(xué)院教授。

譯者：Charlie

審校：夏林

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Apple, which reportedly plans to cut its production target in half for the iPhone X because of slower-than-expected sales, faces a pricing dilemma. If it cuts the price of the iPhone X to spur sales, it risks compromising its profits and premium image. If it sticks to the $1,000 price point, it risks disappointing sales for its flagship phone.

Apple created the pricing problem when it bifurcated its product line into two sets of phones—the ho-hum iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus and the innovative iPhone X priced at a huge premium. The move has clearly backfired: The bragging rights for the iPhone X aren’t attracting enough customers, while the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus pale in comparison to the X’s innovative features like Face ID and OLED screen.

If Apple cuts the price of the iPhone X, would also be forced to lower the prices of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus to preserve the premium position of the iPhone X. Lower prices for all three would be a big profitability hit, as well as an admission that Apple stretched too far when it set a new price benchmark.

So what can Apple do? One option is to adopt the “car dealer strategy,” by offering incentives through its sales channels so that sellers such as Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Best Buy , and others could offer special deals—for example, a $200 “special” incentive discount. Such discounts are the backbone of new vehicle sales in car dealerships, with incentives and special offers that make buying a car cheaper, without lowering the list price. Offering discounts through the sales channel would allow Apple to claim victory on selling a $1,000 phone—a price point no other manufacturer had the guts to even think about implementing—and consumers would never be the wiser as to where discounts originated. Smaller dealer discounts, such as $100 or $150, could be offered on the iPhone 8 and 8 plus, respectively, to keep the price differential, and boost their sales, as well.

One caveat is that makers of premium or exclusive products don’t typically allow significant discounts off the list prices in the sale channel. Canada Goose parkas, for example, rarely go on sale and aren’t sold through discount online retailers. Likewise, Louis Vuitton adopts a “never goes on sale” mantra as part of its branding. Would an iPhone X that’s not purchased for $1,000 still have the same cachet?

Nonetheless, channel discounts are not unheard of in mobile phones. Samsung often will do periodic promotions, such special discounts for its Galaxy 8 phone over the holiday shopping period. One wrinkle, however, is that the sales channel would control the discounts. It might be possible for a retailer to take the $200 discount incentive from Apple, pass along $100 in savings to the consumer, and pocket the other $100.

But price is not the only problem for the iPhone X, which was meant to be so superlative that Apple skipped right over “9” in its numbering. Apple also tried to set a new benchmark in functionality with the iPhone X, which arguably has not materialized. Face ID is very innovative and works well, but it is not enough to justify a $1,000 price. The OLED screen is beautiful, but it’s not new. Samsung, Apple’s supplier, uses OLED screens in all its phones. (Ironically, Apple’s sales disappointment also means a hit for Samsung, which reportedly makes $110 per iPhone X for supplying the OLED screen.)

The iPhone X also has an annoying design glitch: a “notch” for the Face ID app, which interrupts the seamless, edge-to-edge display of the OLED screen. Apple will undoubtedly find a way to correct this awkward design feature in future releases of its phones. This leads us to the question of what Apple should do when it unveils its next suite of products in September.

Instead of perpetuating the bifurcated market, Apple needs to upgrade the features of its iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. It could adopt OLED screens across all three products or it could put Face ID into all its phones. It can reserve one of the premium features for the iPhone X (or its successor), as well as offering a larger screen measuring 6 inches or more. The key will be improving functionality and features for the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, and then raising their list prices by $50 or $100, respectively. That will keep the iPhone X as an aspirational product, while narrowing the feature and price gap between the iPhone X and its smaller siblings.

Mohanbir Sawhney is a professor at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.