Samsung Beats Apple in Customer Satisfaction Survey

Consumer Electronics

Published: June 2, 2015 6:56 am

Last Updated: June 2, 2015 7:13 am

The carefully followed American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) for cell phones recently reported that Samsung rates higher than Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), particularly in the smartphone category.

Samsung cell phones received a score of 80 out of 100, while Apple’s score was 80 as well. Motorola Mobility, a division of Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL), received a rating of 79.

Among smartphones, however, Samsung bested Apple by a large margin. The Galaxy Note 4 received a grade of 86, followed by the Galaxy Note 3 at 82. The Apple iPhone 6 Plus received a rating of 82 as well. The Galaxy S5 also received a rating of 82, and so did the iPhone 6.

At the second tier were Motorola’s Moto X and LG’s 3G at 81. The Apple iPhone 5 received a grade of 80, as did the Galaxy S4, Motorola Moto, LG and HTC smartphones.

Overall, the data points at two things. The first is that smartphone companies with only modest sales are well regarded by customers, which begs the issue of why these manufacturers do not do better in unit sales. HTC, LG and Motorola products have been financial disappointment.

The other fact that stands out is the extent to which Samsung does well, particularly because its earnings results and recent sales have been beaten handily by the iPhone 6. Samsung was the dominant smartphone company by unit sales in the United States. The iPhone 6 changed that. The ACSI numbers probably mean Samsung’s quality ratings might help the sales of its new flagship Samsung Galaxy S6.

The ACSI data may not, on the other hand, translate into unit sales, as the rating of LG and Motorola show.

Smartphones are not the only industry in which consumer research drives sales. Another highly regarded research firm, J.D. Power, has rated Chrysler products poorly among auto brands, and the car company’s sales have done unusually well.

Consumer ratings of specific models and overall brands only help sales so much.

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