Apple just announced it's doing Black Friday after dropping the event last year
The Cupertino company appears to be focusing its Black Friday efforts on ecommerce this year. The dedicated web page says the fastest way to shop the event will be via the Apple Store app and there will be free two-day delivery on almost everything on the day. However, Apple is also extending its retail store opening hours across the holiday period, which includes Black Friday on November 25.
The website does not yet include details on the products and discounts available as part of the promotion.
Apple's decision to run the one-day shopping event this year follows its decision to drop the Black Friday retail tradition in 2015 to give staff a break.
"Being good to your employees will always be good for business," Apple's senior vice president of retail said in an interview last year when Black Friday discounts on Apple products were only available via third-party retailers.
But this year, it seems, Black Friday is too good a retail opportunity to miss.
The web page announcing the event says: "Friday can't come soon enough. Our one-day shopping event will be here before you know it. Come back this Friday to check everyone off your list."
The best discounts on Apple products, however, aren't always from the Apple store, DealNews features editor Benjamin Glaser writes.
"Everything from iPads to Apple Watches can be a great buy on Black Friday, with two big qualifiers: Buy one generation old, and don't buy from the Apple Store," Glaser said, "Brand new devices don't see as significant discounts, and the Apple Store is always undercut by resellers like Best Buy and Micro Center."
Third-party retailers have already been selling discounted Apple products this year. Target's Black Friday deals, which include discounts on Apple TV models and the Apple Watch Series 1, began almost two weeks ago.