Exhale. The high-profile Galaxy Note7 recall Samsung faced this fall won’t cause any long-term damage, according to one IDC study.
The market research firm said Samsung “faces some short-term challenges but nothing that will darken its long-term prospects.”
According to an online survey taken by 1,082 U.S. consumers on Oct. 17-18 — just a few days after Samsung halted production of the Note 7 — the majority of respondents said it would not impact future decisions to buy other, non-smartphone Samsung products such as TVs and appliances.
The polled 507 current Samsung smartphone owners, 347 past Samsung smartphone owners, and 228 smartphone owners who have never owned the Samsung brand. (Only 24 Note 7 users participated in the study due to the limited installed base, said IDC.)
Survey participants’ view of Samsung’s response to the Note 7 recall was largely neutral to positive, IDC said. Just 13 percent hadn’t heard about the recall when polled.
See also: Samsung Incentivizing Galaxy Note7 Owners To Stay With Brand
“As challenging as the Note 7 recall has been for Samsung, the data in this survey indicate that most consumers are unaffected by this, which should be good news for Samsung,” said Ramon T. Llamas, IDC wearables and mobile phones research manager. “For the minority of Samsung customers who are unlikely to purchase a Samsung smartphone in the future, the company has to win back consumer trust. Thus far Samsung has offered monetary incentives but, at the heart of the matter, consumers want to learn the root causes of the problem and how Samsung intends to fix them.”
Added Anthony Scarsella, IDC mobile phones research manager: “The Note 7 recall along with all its repercussions, represents a significant event in the world of consumer electronics. Although the recall may have an adverse impact on the brand in the short term, the truth is that Samsung remains the clear market leader in the worldwide smartphone market.”
“Moving forward,” said Scarsell, “Samsung will need to put the Note 7 to rest as quickly as possible and focus all efforts on producing a stellar Galaxy S8 come next spring. If successful, consumers will quickly forget the Note 7 fiasco if the upcoming S8 can deliver on all fronts.”
