29% of Kindle Fire owners plan to spend more at Amazon, but only 54% very satisfied

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014


A new survey has revealed that 29 percent of Kindle Fire owners plan to spend more money at online retailer Amazon, but only 54 percent of them said they were very satisfied with the device.



Research firm ChangeWave conducted a survey in January of over 2,600 North American consumers and learned that, on average, 20 percent of online shoppers plan to spend more money on Amazon.com in the next 90 days. Among Kindle Fire owners, which reached 6 percent of respondents, that number rose to 29 percent, while non-Kindle Fire owners averaged 19 percent.



The news should come as a relief to Amazon, given its strategy of selling the Kindle Fire at a loss while banking on increased profits from content sales. The company announced its fourth quarter 2011 earnings on Tuesday, disappointing Wall Street with a 57 percent decline in net income despite the fact that Kindle sales were up 177 percent year over year.



Amazon chose not to reveal how many Kindle Fire devices it had sold during the quarter, but one analyst hazarded an estimate of six million units.











The data also showed Amazon to have a dominant position in the e-commerce market. Only 20 percent of respondents said they did not plan to make a purchase on Amazon over the next 90 days. By comparison, 78 percent of consumers said they had no plans to spend money on Walmart.com and 65 percent said they did not see themselves buying anything from eBay.com during the same period.



Not all of the survey results brought good news for Amazon, though, as a question on whether Kindle Fire customers were satisfied with the device prompted just 54 percent to respond that they were very satisfied. An additional 38 percent said they were somewhat satisfied. That compares to results from a November 2011 survey that found 74 percent of iPad users and 49 percent of other tablet device users to be very satisfied with their respective tablets.





Apple iPad and Other Tablet Device ratings are from a November 2011 survey.







ChangeWave went on to note that past surveys have shown that the percentage of respondents who say they are very satisfied with a device is "highly predictive of future demand for that device."



The cost of the Kindle Fire was by far the most-liked aspect of the device, as 59 percent of respondents selected the option. The tablet's color screen was the second-most popular with 31 percent of votes. As for dislikes, 27 percent of owners said the the lack of physical volume buttons was what they disliked most about the tablet, while 21 percent went with the lack of a camera.



[ View article on AppleInsider ]

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 74
    If 29% of Kindle Fire owners plan on spending more money at Amazon... that means 71% of Kindle Fire owners do not plan to spend any more money at Amazon.



    So... was it really worth it to go through the complicated and expensive process to build the Kindle Fire and sell it at cost?



    I mean... those same people might have already been Amazon customers who would have purchased things anyway.



    The whole point of the Kindle Fire was to get it out there at a cheap price... basically sell it at cost... and make it up in additional sales.



    Is 29% enough for the dream to become a reality?
  • Reply 2 of 74
    drdoppiodrdoppio Posts: 1,132member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Michael Scrip View Post


    If 29% of Kindle Fire owners plan on spending more money at Amazon... that means 71% of Kindle Fire owners do not plan to spend any more money at Amazon...



    "... in the next 90 days."
  • Reply 3 of 74
    cash907cash907 Posts: 893member
    Who cares? Hate these sorts of articles on this site, as they come across as a "see, see! Teh competition totally suxxors!!"



    I own a Macbook. I own an iPhone. It's the third one so far. Love all my Apple products, all they way back to my first 5gb Gen 1 iPod that forced me to use MusicMatch just to load music onto it. In all the time I've loved Apple products, I've never once felt the need to slam the competition to make myself feel better about my expensive Apple purchases. The site is called Apple Insider. Report on Apple news, and leave the rest to Engadget, The Verge, or Gizmodo.
  • Reply 4 of 74
    afrodriafrodri Posts: 190member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Michael Scrip View Post


    If 29% of Kindle Fire owners plan on spending more money at Amazon... that means 71% of Kindle Fire owners do not plan to spend any more money at Amazon.



    So... was it really worth it to go through the complicated and expensive process to build the Kindle Fire and sell it at cost?



    I mean... those same people might have already been Amazon customers who would have purchased things anyway.



    The whole point of the Kindle Fire was to get it out there at a cheap price... basically sell it at cost... and make it up in additional sales.



    Is 29% enough for the dream to become a reality?



    Probably too soon to tell. Even if 29% 'plan' to spend more, part of the reason for the Fire is to increase impulse buys... Plus, even if the other 71% don't spend more, they may switch some of their spending from lower-margin physical books to higher-margin electronic purchases.



    From the cost breakdowns I've seen, they basically sell the Fire for the cost of parts and manufacture. If they sold 1 million, and the 29% do spend $20 more each, that could be several million to pay for the NRE. If they sell 5 million, and the 29% spend $50 more, that's up to $70 million. Of course, we can only guess at how many will be sold, how many will spend more, how much more they will spend, and so on...



    In any case, it looks like Amazon might be able to make a profit from the Fire experiment. Worse case for them, they can get out without too much of a loss.
  • Reply 5 of 74
    just_mejust_me Posts: 590member
    Apple is doom
  • Reply 6 of 74
    I love how everyone takes the pathetic breakdown of costs, that were produced before the product was even available, as the real deal.
  • Reply 7 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cycomiko View Post


    I love how everyone takes the pathetic breakdown of costs, that were produced before the product was even available, as the real deal.



    Has the breakdown of costs been updated since the product has been available for the last 2 months?
  • Reply 8 of 74
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    I don't think it would be a relief to them. You sell a device at or below cost, and plan to make it up on content, and only one third of the customers bite.
  • Reply 9 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Michael Scrip View Post


    Has the breakdown of costs been updated since the product has been available for the last 2 months?



    Has any breakdown of cost ever been confirmed by anybody?
  • Reply 10 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    I don't think it would be a relief to them. You sell a device at or below cost, and plan to make it up on content, and only one third of the customers bite.



    confirmation of products cost to amazon? or are you reliant on make believe figures?
  • Reply 11 of 74
    Ok. 54% of users were extremely satisfied. The more interesting figure is what is the combined number of users who were both "Extremely satisfied" plus users who were "Satisfied". To me that is the important number. If the majority of users fall in one of those two categories, which they obviously do since 54% were extremely satisfied, a product is successful.



    The Kindle Fire is a generation one product at a low cost and comparing it to a generation two product at about 3 times the cost with a larger screen is dumb. The average consumer may not be able to justify that 3x cost just to read something or surf the internet. For many consumers the Kindle Fire may be exactly what they need.



    I have iPad 1, iPad2, and Kindle Fire so I am not the average consumer and when I want to sit down and just read a book or a magazine or sometimes even surfing the web I will usually pick up the Kindle Fire because it is smaller, lighter, easier to hold, and quite frankly just better for flat out reading.



    If I want full app experience, larger screen web browsing, it's always the iPad. But I knew that when I bought the Kindle Fire.



    But having said that here are my complaints:



    The lack of actual volume buttons was a huge mistake. It's so annoying to have to navigate multiple menus to just get to volume control when watching a movie or listening to music.



    But the number one biggest gotcha of every new Kindle model, not even mentioned here, was putting the power off buttons on every Kindle model at the bottom where if you just set it on your lap the wrong way or just try to hold the thing in a natural way to read, it turns the device off in the middle of reading something.



    Someone in the usability group at Amazon needs to be fired for that last problem. It truly is horrible. The old Kindles required you to slide the physical power button at the top of the device to the left (and it was hard to do) to even turn it off and now just placing it on your lap turns it off.



    Sorry, Jeff Bezos, but that that last item is one thing Steve Jobs would have flipped out over and you should have too. It's taken a lot of joy out of EVERY Kindle model on this round for me.
  • Reply 12 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bohannjn View Post


    But the number one biggest gotcha of every new Kindle model, not even mentioned here, was putting the power off buttons on every Kindle model at the bottom where if you just set it on your lap the wrong way or just try to hold the thing in a natural way to read, it turns the device off in the middle of reading something. .





    I have a similar problem with the ipad 2 and the magnetic cover. It often places the ipad at an agle that the volume buttons are activated, either turning off, or turning on the sound. Annoying. Worst when the kid turns it down and then shouts out to get me to fix it.



    Plus because it operates which ever way its turned around, I have managed to activate the lock button while surfing.
  • Reply 13 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bohannjn View Post


    Ok. 54% of users were extremely satisfied. The more interesting figure is what is the combined number of users who were both "Extremely satisfied" plus users who were "Satisfied". To me that is the important number. If the majority of users fall in one of those two categories, which they obviously do since 54% were extremely satisfied, a product is successful.



    The Kindle Fire is a generation one product at a low cost and comparing it to a generation two product at about 3 times the cost with a larger screen is dumb. The average consumer may not be able to justify that 3x cost just to read something or surf the internet. For many consumers the Kindle Fire may be exactly what they need.



    I have iPad 1, iPad2, and Kindle Fire so I am not the average consumer and when I want to sit down and just read a book or a magazine or sometimes even surfing the web I will usually pick up the Kindle Fire because it is smaller, lighter, easier to hold, and quite frankly just better for flat out reading.



    If I want full app experience, larger screen web browsing, it's always the iPad. But I knew that when I bought the Kindle Fire.



    But having said that here are my complaints:



    The lack of actual volume buttons was a huge mistake. It's so annoying to have to navigate multiple menus to just get to volume control when watching a movie or listening to music.



    But the number one biggest gotcha of every new Kindle model, not even mentioned here, was putting the power off buttons on every Kindle model at the bottom where if you just set it on your lap the wrong way or just try to hold the thing in a natural way to read, it turns the device off in the middle of reading something.



    Someone in the usability group at Amazon needs to be fired for that last problem. It truly is horrible. The old Kindles required you to slide the physical power button at the top of the device to the left (and it was hard to do) to even turn it off and now just placing it on your lap turns it off.



    Sorry, Jeff Bezos, but that that last item is one thing Steve Jobs would have flipped out over and you should have too. It's taken a lot of joy out of EVERY Kindle model on this round for me.





    It just boggles the mind to see such obvious defects as the absence of physical volume controls and horrible placement of the power button. Did anyone at Amazon even try one of these before hitting the market? Seriously.



    Unfortunately, one sees this kind of crap all over the place in all industries. The hurdle to be a superior company is so low, I'm not surprized the Apple has hit it out of the park.
  • Reply 14 of 74
    daharderdaharder Posts: 1,580member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bohannjn View Post




    But the number one biggest gotcha of every new Kindle model, not even mentioned here, was putting the power off buttons on every Kindle model at the bottom where if you just set it on your lap the wrong way or just try to hold the thing in a natural way to read, it turns the device off in the middle of reading something.



    Someone in the usability group at Amazon needs to be fired for that last problem. It truly is horrible. The old Kindles required you to slide the physical power button at the top of the device to the left (and it was hard to do) to even turn it off and now just placing it on your lap turns it off.



    Sorry, Jeff Bezos, but that that last item is one thing Steve Jobs would have flipped out over and you should have too. It's taken a lot of joy out of EVERY Kindle model on this round for me.



    Really?



    Though the power button on the Kindle Fire is located on the bottom of the device (exactly the same size and distance as the headphone jack from the microUSB port), it protrudes from the device's edge less than one millimeter and requires a rather firm 'push' to activate.



    If yours is so easily activated that merely placing "it on your lap the wrong way or just try to hold the thing in a natural way to read, it turns the device off", then something's definitely wrong with that particular device and you should have it repaired/replaced.







    In the meantime, just use the device with the power button on top and the speakersa facing downward as the Kindle Fire is largely a completely blank slate (no controls/markings) on the front, so rotating it 180 degrees won't pose any usability issues whatsoever.



    Anyway... Really enjoying my Kindle Fire, consider it one of the most user-friendly and value laden device I've ever owned.
  • Reply 15 of 74
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Just_Me View Post


    Apple is doom



    We should have a built-in smiley on AppleInsider that says just that!
  • Reply 16 of 74
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DaHarder View Post


    Anyway... Really enjoying my Kindle Fire, consider it one of the most user-friendly and value laden device I've ever owned.



    But of course... Seriously though, can you elaborate more on what you enjoy about it, what's valuable, and what apps you use? I'm not mocking, like I said I am beginning iPad development so I don't have time to surf Android sites. Please elaborate on the Fire and does the Tab 10.1 have Honeycomb? Are the book formats for the Fire basically ePub or other stuff? How hard is it to port Android apps to Fire apps?
  • Reply 17 of 74
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cycomiko View Post


    I have a similar problem with the ipad 2 and the magnetic cover. It often places the ipad at an agle that the volume buttons are activated, either turning off, or turning on the sound. Annoying. Worst when the kid turns it down and then shouts out to get me to fix it.



    Plus because it operates which ever way its turned around, I have managed to activate the lock button while surfing.



    Hmm. Never seemed to have happened to me on my iPad 2 with magnetic cover. You have to lift the edge a bit to turn up/down the volume but that's as far as the issue goes. I have accidentally activated the lock button before but it quite rarely happens.
  • Reply 18 of 74
    techboytechboy Posts: 183member
    ....and B&N is following Amazon's path...all articles points to Amazon destroying B&N and then crushes book publishers and authors will all be happy to go self-published...OMFG, it's the end of the world as we know it!



    These survey means nothing...imagine Jobs making this decisions based on this kind of crap???!
  • Reply 19 of 74
    daharderdaharder Posts: 1,580member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post


    But of course... Seriously though, can you elaborate more on what you enjoy about it, what's valuable, and what apps you use? I'm not mocking, like I said I am beginning iPad development so I don't have time to surf Android sites. Please elaborate on the Fire and does the Tab 10.1 have Honeycomb? Are the book formats for the Fire basically ePub or other stuff? How hard is it to port Android apps to Fire apps?



    - The size/form-factor is pretty ideal for reading/media consumption, and the device's dual-core SoC performs very well no matter the task/app.



    - For me, the Kindle Fire's 'value' comes from the fact that for a device so inexpensive yet sacrifices very little in the way of build-quality, screen clarity or performance when compared with any modern tablet device, and both books and magazine subscriptions are very nicely priced.



    - I use all manner of different apps, from light gaming (e;g Cut The Rope, Angry Birds, etc) to web surfing, to Netflix, to HuLu Plus, to lengthy reading sessions of both books and magazines.



    - No... The Kindle Fire does not run proprietary apps, and every app that is available in the Amazon Appstore the same as the same title found in the Android App Store, as it is (in fact) an Android tablet. NOTE: I even read my NOOK app subscriptions on my Kindle Fire perfectly.



    Additionally:: Yes, the all current Samsung Galaxy Tabs (8.9, 10.1, 7 plus, 7.7) run Honeycomb, and even ICS for those choose to install it.



  • Reply 20 of 74
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,239member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Michael Scrip View Post


    If 29% of Kindle Fire owners plan on spending more money at Amazon... that means 71% of Kindle Fire owners do not plan to spend any more money at Amazon.



    So... was it really worth it to go through the complicated and expensive process to build the Kindle Fire and sell it at cost?



    I mean... those same people might have already been Amazon customers who would have purchased things anyway.



    The whole point of the Kindle Fire was to get it out there at a cheap price... basically sell it at cost... and make it up in additional sales.



    Is 29% enough for the dream to become a reality?



    I had the same thought. But I guess Amazon doesn't need to make it all back in one month.



    Still... a risky strategy by Amazon: sell one product at a loss in order to subsidize some other low margin product. That's not how the razor blade strategy is supposed to work -- the blades are supposed to be high margin.
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