Saturday, October 20, 2007

iPhone excels in US customer satisfaction

Apple's iPhone customers are happy punters, US survey reveals

Jonny Evans


Alongside climbing sales, the iPhone is achieving record levels of customer satisfaction, new research reveals.

A mobile phone customer survey conducted by ChangeWave Research earlier this month shows the iPhone now leads the pack in terms of customer satisfaction among its US customer base.

An unprecedented 82 per cent of iPhone owners reported being Very Satisfied with their purchase, up five points since the previous survey in July and by far the highest rating of any mobile manufacturer.

The researchers spoke with 3,645 mobile phone users who confirmed the impact of Apple's must-have device is being felt across the industry. iPhone market share climbed to 2 per cent (from 1 per cent in July), the research reveals.

And while Motorola remains the leading mobile phone manufacturer with 30 per cent of the US market, its dominance fell one point form 31 per cent in the previous survey - suggesting that its Motorola which is most keenly feeling iPhone's competitive pinch.

Motorola (33 per cent) was next to last among mobile manufacturers in customer satisfaction, with Sony/Ericsson (31 per cent) at rock bottom.

Apple seems firmly set on an upward trajectory in the months ahead - the research found 16 per cent of respondents who plan to purchase a phone in the next six months saying they'll buy an iPhone - placing Apple up at the top among all manufacturers.

"There's no longer any doubt about the staying power of the iPhone," said Tobin Smith, founder of ChangeWave Research, who added, "The continuing embrace of the iPhone by the public is a stellar example of how a new product can forever alter its own playing field."

In related news, AT&T continues to attract new customers, gaining one point of market share to take 29 per cent of the US market, closely on the tail of the dominant US network, Verizon. This is the third consecutive quarter of market share growth for At&T.

No comments: