This article is more than 1 year old

Galaxy Note 7 flameout: 2 in 5 Samsung fans say they'll never buy from the Korean giant again

Punters will vote with their wallets – before they're roasted

Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 fiasco continues to erode the South Korean goliath's customer base.

Two days ago, the electronics giant said it would stop selling the Note 7 after a series of fires arising from faulty batteries. It also advised Note 7 customers to stop using the device.

Now, a survey conducted by ecommerce company Branding Brand suggests customer loyalty is going up in smoke. On Thursday, the firm released the survey results, which indicate that 40 per cent of Samsung customers say they will not buy another Samsung phone.

The survey was conducted on October 11 and 12 and involved 1,000 Samsung customers.

That figure is up 6 percentage points from a similar survey released by the firm on September 23.

According to Branding Brand, 30 per cent of current Samsung smartphone owners say they've never owned another brand of phone.

Apple may benefit the most from defections, with 30 per cent of those saying they'll switch indicating a preference for an iPhone. Some 62 per cent of those abandoning Samsung are looking at other Android phones. And 8 per cent of switchers say they plan to buy a Google Pixel.

Samsung's recall of 2.5 million Note 7 phones is also taking a financial toll on the company. On Wednesday, Samsung revised its quarterly profit forecast to 5.2 trillion won ($4.7 billion) from $7.8 trillion won estimated just a few days earlier.

Samsung, according to Reuters, is sending fireproof boxes to Note 7 customers who purchased the phone online, so they can return the device safely. The boxes might be better used as tiny coffins to entomb the phones, since the USPS, FedEx, and UPS won't ship the boxes by air. ®

More about

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like