Apple, Samsung Rank Highest in Satisfaction with Smartwatches and Fitness Bands

The reports measure overall satisfaction with smartwatches among customers who purchased a smartwatch device within the past 12 months and satisfaction with fitness band trackers among customers who purchased a fitness band device within the past 12 months. Each report examines satisfaction across 11 factors:

• Smartwatches (listed in order of importance): ease of use; comfort; battery life; phone features; price; strength/durability; display size; styling/appearance; reliability; apps available; and customer service
• Fitness band trackers (listed in order of importance): reliability; strength/durability; ease of use; battery life; price; variety of features; comfort; styling and appearance; display size; apps available; and customer service

Satisfaction is calculated on a 1,000-point scale.

"Both the wearable fitness tracking device and smartwatch marketplaces are evolving as more and more brands are offering updated devices with new features and services," said Kirk Parsons, senior director and telecom, media & technology practice leader at J.D. Power. "However, it is important that device manufacturers focus on offering a product that is reliable at a price that is perceived as good value based on its features. Those that do so early in the game may improve their opportunity to increase satisfaction, customer loyalty and repurchase intention."

Smartwatches Brand Satisfaction Rankings

• Apple (852) ranks highest in customer satisfaction with smartwatches and performs particularly well in comfort, styling/appearance and ease of use.
• Samsung (842) ranks second, performing well in customer service, display size and phone features.
• Overall customer satisfaction with smartwatches is 847.
• Overall, 19% of smartwatch customers indicate having experienced one or more problems, with the most common being battery charge not lasting long enough/battery not charging (29%); difficulties customizing (23%); and broken charger (22%).
• When customers experience one or more problems with their smartwatch, there is a significant 21-point drop in overall satisfaction.

Fitness Bands Brand Satisfaction Rankings

• Samsung (859) ranks highest in customer satisfaction with fitness bands and performs particularly well in comfort, reliability and ease of use.
• Garmin (836) ranks second, performing well in four factors: customer service, ease of use, strength/durability and reliability.
• Overall customer satisfaction with fitness band devices across all brands is 829.
• Online shopping websites (43%) and recommendations from friends/family (41%) are the two key sources of information used when selecting a fitness band device.
• The reasons most often cited by customers as their main consideration when they selected their current fitness band device are ease of use (48%), price (40%), brand reputation (38%) and positive reviews (36%).

The 2016 Fitness Band Device Satisfaction Report and the 2016 Smartwatch Device Satisfaction Report are based on responses from 2,949 respondents who purchased a fitness band tracker within the past 12 months and from 2,696 respondents who purchased a smartwatch within the past 12 months. The reports were fielded in May and June 2016. Find more information about J.D. Power solutions for the telecom, media & technology industry at http://www.jdpower.com/industry/telecom.

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SOURCE J.D. Power

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