New Reuters poll suggests that Note 7 debacle didn’t damage Samsung’s brand in the US

Following a global recall of the Galaxy Note 7 due to dozens of device explosions, many expect Samsung’s brand as a whole to suffer. Other issues in the company’s vast array of products ─ namely washing machines ─ only contributed to that. However, according to a new poll, none of these episodes have significantly damaged Samsung’s brand in the eyes of customers (via Reuters)…

The poll, conducted by Reuters/Ispos between October 26th and November 9th, surveyed over 5,400 people —including both Samsung product owners as well as those who only knew about the recall but were interested in Samsung devices. Some who did not know about the recall were also surveyed, and of the 5,400 users polled, around 3,100 were iPhone users.

Among those who knew about the recall, 27% said they would first consider a Samsung smartphone when buying a new device, while 25% of those who did not know about the recall said they would first consider a Samsung smartphone. As for Samsung fans, fierce brand loyalty kicked in as 91% of those users said that they would purchase another Samsung smartphone. That kind of brand loyalty is only rivaled by Apple users, 92% of which would likely buy another iPhone.

While these numbers definitely look encouraging, Reuters says that the poll didn’t directly investigate how the recall affected consumer opinion:

To be sure, it was unclear how much the Samsung recall weighed on the minds of consumers. The Reuters/Ipsos poll measured how interested people were in buying Samsung phones, not how much the recall directly influenced their decisions.

Clearly, the recall (and Samsung’s reaction to it) didn’t turn too many customers off of the brand. Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research says that the reason for this is because the recall mainly affected early adopters, primarily Samsung fans. Dawson said, “Your own personal experience trumps what you read and what people tell you.”