The demise of the PC has been exaggerated, based on the latest findings about personal computer satisfaction from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). The findings come from ACSI’s Household Appliances and Electronics Report 2018.
Personal Computer Satisfaction
Only 17% of consumers recently bought PCs, but the heavily weighted satisfaction measure pushed the overall ACSI score to 83 – up 4% over last year. Tablets also climbed to 80, overtaking laptops, which rank as the only segment to deteriorate, down to 75.
Among PC manufacturers, Apple continues to rank the best, maintaining its 83 score for the second straight year. Sales of its PCs grew by 1.7% over the same time period.
Amazon tied with Samsung for second place in the ACSI ratings, each with a score of 82. ASUS fell to 78, tying it with HP, which increased to 78, just ahead of Lenovo (77) and Acer (75).
“Phones continue to supplant computers for web browsing, shopping, banking, and entertainment, but desktop computers are workhorses for gamers and business users,” said David VanAmburg, ACSI managing director, in a prepared statement. “These users make up a small but passionate corner of the PC market, choosing desktops for the power and functionality that phones, tablets, and even laptops still can’t match, according to our satisfaction data.”
Though the PCs themselves scored well, certain elements could be improved, with design dropping 1 point to 82 and accessories, software and apps, and graphics and sound all falling 1 point to 80. Ease of operation held steady at 79, but an increase in the frequency of system crashes, along with features losing some of their appeal, triggered drops in both these categories to 77. Processor speed also dipped 3 to 76.
Important customer touch-points show considerable signs of strain. Website satisfaction fell five points to 78, and call centers, which made progress last year, completely reversed course, plummeting 14 points to 67.