Westlake Village, Calif. – Amazon ranked highest in overall satisfaction for the first time in J.D. Power U.S. tablet satisfaction study, edging out Apple and Samsung.
The semi-annual survey of consumers who have owned their tablet for less than a year also found that overall customer satisfaction with tablet devices held steady from the survey taken six months ago (820 versus 821 points, respectively, on a 1,000-point scale). But that was down from a year-ago survey’s 835.
Satisfaction with tablet costs grew significantly over the survey taken six months ago, with cost satisfaction rising 11 points to 783 compared to the survey taken six months ago. Price satisfaction was also 25 points higher than in the year-ago survey.
“Satisfaction with cost has improved in part due to reduced pricing as new manufacturers have entered the market,” the company said. “Tablets have also become more powerful and optimally sized, which has allowed customers to replace other electronics, such as laptops.”
Kirk Parsons, senior director of telecom services, also pointed out that “as value-priced tablet brands continue to flood the market, customer attention is turning away from just the price of the device to their perception of the combined value of price, features and performance.” Tablet brands that “continue to successfully convey more value and package more performance at a reasonable price are more likely to satisfy tablet owners and increase loyalty and advocacy for the brand.”
A total of 2,686 consumers were surveyed. Factors measured in the survey were weighted in the following order of importance to create a 1,000-point satisfaction index: performance (28%); ease of operation (22%); features (22%); styling and design (17%); and cost (11%).
Based on the latest survey’s responses, J.D. Power assigned a satisfaction index of 827 points to Amazon, followed closely by Apple with 824 points and Samsung with 821 points. The survey’s average was 820 points. Asus ranked next with 809 points, and Acer followed with 780.
Barnes & Noble (Nook), Microsoft, HP and Toshiba also turned up in the survey but were not ranked because of small market shares, J.D. Power said.
Amazon’s scored highest in the ease of operation and cost. Apple and Samsung performed particularly well in performance and styling/design, the company said.
In other findings:
–Consumers on average spent $345 on their tablet, down $48 from the first half of 2013.
–32 percent of tablet owners said they selected their device primarily due to its lower price, a percentage that remained steady over the past two years.
–Overall satisfaction is 113 points higher among customers who are highly satisfied with the fairness of their tablet’s price compared to those with medium satisfaction, or 904 versus 791.
–Among tablet owners who are highly satisfied with the cost of their device, 62 percent say they “definitely will” recommend their tablet manufacturer, compared to 29 percent of those with low satisfaction.
