Westlake Village, Calif.
– Energy Star certification is on the minds of consumers more than ever,
according to J.D. Power and Associates’ latest majaps satisfaction surveys, and
Samsung is reaping the benefits.
The market research firm released two studies
on Wednesday — the 2010 Laundry Appliance Satisfaction Study and the 2010
Kitchen Appliance Satisfaction Study — both of which showed increases in the
number of consumers who purchased an Energy Star-certified appliance compared
with 2008 and 2009.
Dishwashers saw the
biggest jump, with 86 percent of consumers taking home an Energy Star-certified
model, a 5 percent increase from 2009.
Christina Cooley, real
estate and construction industries senior manager at J.D. Power, said that
increased awareness of the Energy Star program, along with federal rebate
programs, likely played a part in the increases.
“Twenty percent fewer
customers reported that they did not know if their appliance was Energy Star certified
in 2010 compared to those that purchased their appliance in 2008 or 2009,”
Cooley added. “Manufacturers and retailers continue to have an opportunity to
tout the energy efficiency of the appliances they offer and the specific,
tangible benefits tied to energy efficiency, which in turn impact customer
satisfaction.”
According to J.D. Power,
customers who report that their appliance is Energy Star certified are more
likely to be more satisfied with their appliance than customers who do not
indicate that their appliance is certified.
Samsung took top honors
in clothes washers for the second consecutive year, scoring 832 on a
1,000-point scale of consumer satisfaction. It also ranked highest in clothes
dryers (833) and refrigerators (803).
Miele ranked highest for
dishwashers (806), with Bosch following close behind (801). Wolf won over the
competition in the cooktops/ranges/ovens category, with a satisfaction score of
812. Samsung came in second in that category, with a score of 809.
Both studies were
fielded between March and April of this year, and were based on responses from
consumers who purchased or received the appliances in the previous 24 months.
