In a poor economy, some budget PC brands are finding its customers happier than ever, according to this year's installment of the American Customer Satisfaction Index, an annual study completed by the University of Michigan each year.
In the 2009 rankings for PC makers, which are set to be released Tuesday, the brands whose rankings saw the most improvement were Compaq and Gateway. Compaq's score of 74 represented an increase of 5.7 percent, the largest gain among computer makers in the last year, and equaling the highest customer satisfaction ranking for the brand--owned by Hewlett-Packard--since 1996. The Acer-owned Gateway brand also saw an uptick in satisfied customers, attaining a score of 74, a 2.8 percent increase from last year.
"My guess is price has something to do with it," said Claes Fornell, director of the National Quality Research Center at the University of Michigan, which conducts the study. "(Compaq and Gateway) machines are typically priced somewhat below competition. Other than that things are stalling a bit in the industry, not moving one way or another."
The study asks 80,000 consumers to rank brands based on expectations of the product, previous experience, and comparison to an ideal version of the product. For PCs, a score of 78 out of 100 is considered good.
Despite those gains by Compaq and Gateway, the 2009 ACSI scores show that Apple continues to lead the pack by a mile, with a score of 84. Its next closest competitor, Dell, stands at 75, which was also the average score for all PC makers. HP moved from 73 to 74. Apple did see a slight decrease (from 85 last year), and on average all PC makers saw a 1.3 percent increase from 74 last year to 75 in 2009, reflecting an overall satisfied customer base, as well as very little change in dynamics in consumers' experience with their computers.
With an 11-point lead, Apple is one of only two companies evaluated by ACSI that dominates its category so totally, according to Fornell.
"It's unusual in any industry to have a lead like the one Apple has," he said. "Google has a similar lead."
His explanation is that compared to others in their respective categories, both are "better at marketing what they have to offer to the public."
That marketing, besides drumming up good feelings in consumers, is also pushing up Apple's bottom line. The company just recorded its best non-holiday quarter in its history, selling 2.6 million Macs, a 4 percent increase from the same quarter a year ago. PC makers, on average, saw their sales dip 3.1 percent for the same quarter, according to IDC.
Quick question: What's the difference between a Netbook and a notebook? Apparently, a lot of people aren't sure.
Only 58 percent of consumers who bought a Netbook over a notebook said they were very satisfied with their purchase, according to a study released Tuesday by researcher NPD Group. That compares with a 70 percent satisfaction rate from consumers who planned on buying a Netbook from the start.
NPD found that the level of dissatisfaction stemmed from confusion over the capabilities of a Netbook. The study, "NPD's Netbooks II: A Closer Look," discovered that 60 percent of the people questioned bought a Netbook instead of a notebook thinking the two have the same functionality.
In general, Netbooks are smaller, cheaper, and less powerful than traditional notebooks, but the line is blurring.
Among the people surveyed for the study, performance and portability were two key factors in the decision of whether to buy a Netbook or a notebook. Among 18 to 24 year olds, 65 percent said they bought a Netbook expecting better performance. But only 27 percent said their Netbooks performed better than expected.
NPD asked consumers which was the more important factor in choosing a Netbook: portability or price? Around 60 percent chose portability, while about 40 percent were more driven by pricing. However, 60 percent of buyers admitted that after the purchase, they never took their Netbooks out of the house.
"We need to make sure consumers are buying a PC intended for what they plan to do with it," said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD. "Retailers and manufacturers can't put too much emphasis on PC-like capabilities and general features that could convince consumers that a Netbook is a replacement for a notebook. Instead, they should be marketing mobility, portability, and the need for a companion PC to ensure consumers know what they are buying and are more satisfied with their purchases."
Speaking to CNET News, Baker further noted that the operating system on the Netbook proved important to buyers, more so than brand, since consumers seem open to many different brands.
"People really value what the operating system is," said Baker. "That was basically the No. 1 feature that they were concerned about. Brand wasn't quite so important."
From the survey results, Baker also found that online stores are a major source for Netbooks--40 percent of the consumers questioned bought their Netbooks over the Internet. Third-party outlets seem to be competing heavily against the manufacturers' own Web sites.
"I think Netbooks are a product type that do better online," said Baker. "It's not as stressful a purchase. Given the fact that these aren't real configurable products, it's just as easy for somebody to buy at Amazon as it is at HP.com."
The study was based on a survey completed in May by nearly 600 adult consumers from NPD's online panel who were identified as Netbook owners.
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