While the volume of comparison shopping grows as more brands offer new tablet devices, those customers who currently use a tablet made by a company with a strong brand image are less likely to comparison shop, according to the J.D. Power 2016 U.S. Tablet Satisfaction StudyS—Volume 2. Apple’s iPad ranks highest in overall satisfaction and ranks highest in all factors except cost.
The study, now in its fifth year, measures customer satisfaction with tablets across five factors (in order of importance): performance (28%); ease of operation (22%); features (22%); styling & design (17%); and cost (11%). Satisfaction is calculated on a 1,000-point scale.
According to the study, 56% of customers considered a brand of tablet other than what they ultimately purchased. While overall satisfaction is not significantly different between customers who did and did not consider multiple brands (825 vs. 831, respectively), those who did not consider multiple brands rate their brand higher in most image attributes. Specifically, customers who did not consider multiple brands rate their brand 6.2 (on a 7-point scale) in Bad reputation vs. Good reputation, compared with 6.0 among those who considered multiple brands.
Apple has the lowest incidence of customers who considered another brand (43%). In comparison, Microsoft and Samsung, which are the other brands that perform above average in overall satisfaction, have sizable percentages of customers who considered another tablet brand (68% and 59%, respectively).
The 2016 U.S. Tablet Satisfaction Study—Volume 2 is based on experiences evaluated by 3,511 tablet owners who have owned their current device for less than one year. The study was fielded between March and August 2016.
