an “affordable” iPhone?

December 17, 2009 at 8:13 am Leave a comment

High street, meet value street.

With a 12-month contract and a £20 per month tariff offer for the iPhone 3G 8GB handset, The Times reports that Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket has aggressively moved to undercut its rivals O2 and Orange, the only other companies selling the phone in the UK.

But it comes with a high upfront tag of £222.

Will customers bite?

“We needed to learn a new type of selling where we stand face-to-face and talk people through the different options they have got,” he says. And we had to do it in such a way that fits within the context of a weekly grocery shop.”

After successful trials, Tesco, he says, is ready for action and consumers do not have to take his word for it. Its telecoms unit has just received a huge endorsement — a deal with Apple, the consumer electronics group, to sell the iPhone.

The supermarket beat some of the best-known names in the telecoms world, including Vodafone, in the race to sell the sought-after gadget. From today, shoppers will be able to pop one into their trolleys alongside their groceries.