Samsung says 90% of Note7 owners don’t want a refund despite fires
Samsung has had, what most would call, a bad month. It started with scattered reports of its new Galaxy Note7 catching fire for seemingly no reason and quickly escalated to a full-blown, worldwide safety recall. But, according to Samsung at least, many Note7 customers are opting to stick with the Note7 by choosing replacement devices over full refunds.
The Note7’s propensity to explode turned out to be related to the phone’s batteries, according to the tech giant. As a result, Samsung has offered customers their choice of replacement Note7s with non-exploding batteries; a replacement Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge; or a full refund from the store where they bought their phone.
So far, Samsung says, about 50% of Note7 handsets sold in the US have been exchanged since the recall announcement. Of that 50%, though, some 90% of Note7 owners have opted to take a replacement Note7 instead of a different phone or cash.
If this is true, Samsung could be breathing a sigh of relief as it would mean that despite such a major blunder — exploding devices is about as bad as it can get for a consumer electronics company — customers are still sticking by the brand.
That doesn’t mean Samsung hasn’t suffered a major blow to its brand name, though. The folks returning their phones could be long-time Samsung fans who purposely went out of their way to buy the Note7 as close to its release as possible. If that’s the case, then it would make sense for them to choose the Note7 over a refund, as they might simply like the phone a great deal.
Others who might have been considering buying the Note7 before Samsung’s terrible month may decide not to get the phone following the widespread reports of fires. It also didn’t help Samsung’s case when the FAA called for Note7 owners to turn off their devices while on flights.
If that wasn’t bad enough, The Wall Street Journal is reporting some customers in South Korea have noticed their replacement Note7’s can’t hold a charge or are overheating. Samsung, however, told the paper the new issues are isolated and unrelated to the phone’s batteries.
All of that is to say, it could take months to determine if the Note7’s battery problems will have a major effect on the company’s sales. So far, however, Samsung has recovered a good deal of its stock price following a massive slide after the initial recall was announced.
More from Dan:
Google’s Allo funnels the limitless power of the internet into a simple messaging app
Samsung’s Gear S3 smartwatch lets you ditch your phone in style
Email Daniel at dhowley@yahoo-inc.com; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.
