The Apple Watch has already made its way to Target and Best Buy (with Best Buy customers dying to find an Apple Watch under their Christmas tree), but Wal-Mart refuses to be left behind. The Apple Watch Sport, the most inexpensive Apple Watch in the company’s lineup, has now been given a place in Wal-Mart’s supply stock. The latest news surrounding the Apple Watch has the device in stock at Wal-Mart, online. However, there is just one caveat: there’s only the Apple Watch Sport, the $349 model and the 42mm Apple Watch Sport model at $399, in stock (no Apple Watch or $18,000 Apple Watch Edition models there, yet; we doubt these will make it, just to be honest).
The Apple Watch Sport is still at $349 at Wal-Mart as it has been pretty much everywhere else, although Best Buy has been discounting the Apple Watch models here and there with $100 discounts from time to time. Best Buy has partnered with Apple, creating small Apple Stores within 1,000 or so of its own. Wal-Mart is unlikely to have that kind of a relationship with Apple so as to create mini Apple Stores within its own, so Apple’s decision to bring the Apple Watch Sport to a retailer like Wal-Mart is interesting, indeed.
Apple has kept its Apple Watch models behind glass cases in its own luxury stores, including the Apple Watch Sport, but the company’s decision to bring them to Wal-Mart, Target, and other retailers is a different strategy than the company’s original plans. It seems as though, in its race to become the top smartwatch maker, Apple has taken to average channels by which to sell its smartwatches. Apple does sell iPads and iPods via online and in-store retailers, but the company tends to stick with Best Buy when it comes to electronics. You may find an iPod at Wal-Mart, but it’s highly unusual to buy a 2013 MacBook Pro there.
There are no discounts to speak of at this time, which means that you’re looking at $349 as compared to the price drops at Best Buy. The Apple Watch Sport does have a sweat-resistant band however, which makes it an ideal wristband for those who are physically active and into fitness. This deal is not perfect for all, but it is perfect for those who live at Wal-Mart and are always trying to figure out what to do with those Wal-Mart gift cards come Christmas time.
