Samsung brand escaped the Note 7 recall untainted, poll finds

Samsung’s smartphone market share has taken a notable hit this year following the Galaxy Note 7 recall, but the company’s broader brand image seems to have escaped the event mostly intact, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. According to the data, which was collected between October 26th and November 9th, the recall has not dampened consumer appetite for Samsung smartphones and other products.

The poll pitched a variety of questions to potential smartphone customers who both had and hadn’t heard about the Galaxy Note 7 recall. 25 percent of those asked who didn’t know about the recall were considering purchasing a Samsung phone, and this result actually increases slightly to 27 percent in the group who were aware of the recall. In other words, there’s very little difference in appetite for Samsung phones between those who are and aren’t aware of the recall situation.

Furthermore, brand loyalty appears to remain high in the Samsung fan camp. Around 91 percent of current Samsung smartphone owners are likely to purchase another phone from the brand at some point, and 92 percent also say that they will likely buy another Samsung product of some sort. This compares very favourably to the Apple faithful, where 92 percent responded that there were likely to buy another iPhone, and 89 says they would buy another Apple product.

A theory put forward by Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research suggests that broader consumers may not view the recall too negatively because the event was mostly limited to early hardware adopters. So even though the recall may have permeated popular culture, those that weren’t directly involved in the hassle of returning handsets are still likely basing their opinions on Samsung using other factors too.  Of course, we don’t know how much the recall is weighing on how consumers are going to approach future Samsung sales, and even those intending to buy one of next year’s flagships may be more hesitant to become an early adopter next time around.

While polling is far from an exact science, the results suggest that Samsung has an opportunity to bounce back from the Note 7 recall. Providing that next year’s Galaxy S8 and Note 8 can match the Note 7’s critical acclaim.