Consumers lose interest in iPad after Apple's unveiling - survey
Despite a highly publicized public debut, potential customers lost a great deal of interest in Apple's new touchscreen iPad after it was unveiled, a new study has found.
A survey of more than 1,000 randomly selected customers at the online marketplace Retrevo found that 52 percent of respondents have heard of Apple's iPad, but are not interested in buying one. Another 18 percent said they had not heard of the product, but also were not interested.
Prior to the product's unveiling, 26 percent of those surveyed had heard of the then-mythical "Apple tablet," but were not interested in buying one. That total doubled after the iPad's official Jan. 26 unveiling.
"It's the apps that sell smartphones like the iPhone and it could very well be those same apps that motivate buyers to run down to the Apple Store and get in line to buy a shiny new iPad," the company said. "Whether this device becomes a big hit is anyone?s guess but based on this study it sure looks doubtful."
The survey found that awareness of the iPad is high -- more than 80 percent of respondents said they had heard of Apple's product. Of those, 21 percent said they need more information on the iPad before they purchase, and 9 percent said they would likely buy one. The company even tracked conversations on Twitter, and found the iPad announcement rivaled talk of the U.S. presidential State of the Union address, held the same day.
The survey results suggest consumers may not see how the iPad would fit into their lives. While 5 percent said they "definitely" need one, 61 percent said they do not think they need an iPad.
In addition, the $130 premium cost to add 3G connectivity was found to be a turn-off for potential buyers. While 12 percent would pay the extra money for 3G and 29 percent would think about it, 59 percent of respondents said they would not pay any extra for 3G.
Retrevo's latest survey was conducted between Jan. 27 and Feb. 3 following Apple's announcement of the iPad, starting at $499 and scheduled to arrive in late March. The results were compared to a previous study done between Jan. 16 and Jan. 20, before the iPad was unveiled.
Last week, another study of medical professionals found that one in five physicians said they are likely to purchase an iPad. Of more than 350 clinicians surveyed, 9 percent said they plan to buy the product immediately, while another 13 percent intend to purchase one in the first year.
Analysts mostly expect the iPad to have a moderate but successful start, selling between one million and five million in its first year. The product's aggressive $499 starting price is seen to be its greatest asset. One analyst believes a sales "catalyst" must emerge -- as the iTunes Store did for the iPod, and App Store for the iPhone -- before the iPad sees significant growth.
A survey of more than 1,000 randomly selected customers at the online marketplace Retrevo found that 52 percent of respondents have heard of Apple's iPad, but are not interested in buying one. Another 18 percent said they had not heard of the product, but also were not interested.
Prior to the product's unveiling, 26 percent of those surveyed had heard of the then-mythical "Apple tablet," but were not interested in buying one. That total doubled after the iPad's official Jan. 26 unveiling.
"It's the apps that sell smartphones like the iPhone and it could very well be those same apps that motivate buyers to run down to the Apple Store and get in line to buy a shiny new iPad," the company said. "Whether this device becomes a big hit is anyone?s guess but based on this study it sure looks doubtful."
The survey found that awareness of the iPad is high -- more than 80 percent of respondents said they had heard of Apple's product. Of those, 21 percent said they need more information on the iPad before they purchase, and 9 percent said they would likely buy one. The company even tracked conversations on Twitter, and found the iPad announcement rivaled talk of the U.S. presidential State of the Union address, held the same day.
The survey results suggest consumers may not see how the iPad would fit into their lives. While 5 percent said they "definitely" need one, 61 percent said they do not think they need an iPad.
In addition, the $130 premium cost to add 3G connectivity was found to be a turn-off for potential buyers. While 12 percent would pay the extra money for 3G and 29 percent would think about it, 59 percent of respondents said they would not pay any extra for 3G.
Retrevo's latest survey was conducted between Jan. 27 and Feb. 3 following Apple's announcement of the iPad, starting at $499 and scheduled to arrive in late March. The results were compared to a previous study done between Jan. 16 and Jan. 20, before the iPad was unveiled.
Last week, another study of medical professionals found that one in five physicians said they are likely to purchase an iPad. Of more than 350 clinicians surveyed, 9 percent said they plan to buy the product immediately, while another 13 percent intend to purchase one in the first year.
Analysts mostly expect the iPad to have a moderate but successful start, selling between one million and five million in its first year. The product's aggressive $499 starting price is seen to be its greatest asset. One analyst believes a sales "catalyst" must emerge -- as the iTunes Store did for the iPod, and App Store for the iPhone -- before the iPad sees significant growth.
Comments
no multitask, no flash, no camera, no interest....
I expect it will be several months before word of mouth gains momentum of how enjoyable and functional and useful the iPad is, and the Apps will be pouring in and adding to the desirability.
And in a year when more features are added sales will really pick up.
Ppl LOVE Skype and iChat. The cellular networks are probably not able to handle that load yet. But when that is available it will be a big sale instigator!
Plus all the new sensors and functions of the future will help. It will evolve even more rapidly than the iPhone.
Despite a highly publicized public debut, potential customers lost a great deal of interest in Apple's new touchscreen iPad after it was unveiled, a new study has found. ...
I think you guys are reading the survey wrong.
It's pretty clear that the difference between before and after on the first graph is a large number of people who hadn't heard of it (and therefore didn't know if they wanted it), now know about it and have decided they don't want it. So?
The number of people interested in it enough to be customers has actually *increased* from the "before" to the "after." Similarly, the number of people interested but still wanting to know more has also gone up. The number of people stil interested but "sure they aren't going to buy one" has actually gone down.
This is all good news for Apple.
Same goes for the second graph. the number of people saying they will buy it has *increased* and the number people thinking about it has also slightly *increased.*
These graphs don't show the dismal picture the article paints.
And Apple conducts product launches and generates buzz with almost military precision.
And if Apple wanted they could allocate this things one of the largest worldwide advertising budgets in the history of consumer electronics. They certainly have the resources.
So lets see.
If you look at the graphs, the question was "Have you heard of it" and then taking a subset of those people and seeing how interested they are. Beforehand 52% of people had not heard of it, however some (about 1/3) were interested in hearing about it. Afterwards, 52% said they had heard and were not interested in it. There was a group at 18% that said they had not heard of it and still weren't interested, and the no, but interested group seemed to disappear without any mention of it being below 1% (Meaning we don't know whether they asked that question or not).
In total the people that wanted to buy the iPad increased to 9% (from 3%), and "wait and see" people increased to 21%. The only way you could say that people are less interested is from the total of "not interested" going from 62% to 70%. Which to honest, is a very minor difference considering that this is a new product announcement that no consumer has been able to put their hand on.
I'd call it a pretty deceiving graph.
Lost interest AFTER unveiling? I lost interest WHILE they were unveiling....
no multitask, no flash, no camera, no interest....
*yawn*
*sound of broken record playing*
Well, wait until its in the stores. These people surveyed have not seen it yet.
Of course interest will wane until after the product is actually available for purchase and use.
I expect it will be several months before word of mouth gains momentum of how enjoyable and functional and useful the iPad is, and the Apps will be pouring in and adding to the desirability.
And in a year when more features are added sales will really pick up.
Ppl LOVE Skype and iChat. The cellular networks are probably not able to handle that load yet. But when that is available it will be a big sale instigator!
Plus all the new sensors and functions of the future will help. It will evolve even more rapidly than the iPhone.
QUADRA- is that you?
Still, even with those numbers, the survey is really useless until someone puts it in context. What's the survey profile for other products? And what was actual sales performance compared to the survey numbers?
For a tech writer, the author is pretty innumerate. Either that or just intellectually dishonest for the sake of sensation. Don't know which is worse.
Apple needs to stop this nonsense of debuting a product and then saying it will be available X months later.
People show as much interest in the iPad as the Apple TV, which Apple never advertises and word of mouth is not working. If Apple is going to keep public interest up, they are going to have to either debut it again or start advertising it.
I think you guys are reading the survey wrong.
It's pretty clear that the difference between before and after on the first graph is a large number of people who hadn't heard of it (and therefore didn't know if they wanted it), now know about it and have decided they don't want it. So?
The number of people interested in it enough to be customers has actually *increased* from the "before" to the "after." Similarly, the number of people interested but still wanting to know more has also gone up. The number of people stil interested but "sure they aren't going to buy one" has actually gone down.
This is all good news for Apple.
Same goes for the second graph. the number of people saying they will buy it has *increased* and the number people thinking about it has also slightly *increased.*
These graphs don't show the dismal picture the article paints.
Only you could take the lead line from the article "Consumers lose interest in iPad after Apple's unveiling - survey" and twist it into something fanboyish. I've got to hand it to ya.
I think you guys are reading the survey wrong.
It's pretty clear that the difference between before and after on the first graph is a large number of people who hadn't heard of it (and therefore didn't know if they wanted it), now know about it and have decided they don't want it. So?
The number of people interested in it enough to be customers has actually *increased* from the "before" to the "after." Similarly, the number of people interested but still wanting to know more has also gone up. The number of people stil interested but "sure they aren't going to buy one" has actually gone down.
This is all good news for Apple.
Same goes for the second graph. the number of people saying they will buy it has *increased* and the number people thinking about it has also slightly *increased.*
These graphs don't show the dismal picture the article paints.
I'm inclined this way as well.
Only you could take the lead line from the article "Consumers lose interest in iPad after Apple's unveiling - survey" and twist it into something fanboyish. I've got to hand it to ya.
You could have saved yourself from being wrong by reading others comments.
So... in other words someone is taking a survey and making it look like consumers have less interest.
If you look at the graphs, the question was "Have you heard of it" and then taking a subset of those people and seeing how interested they are. Beforehand 52% of people had not heard of it, however some (about 1/3) were interested in hearing about it. Afterwards, 52% said they had heard and were not interested in it. There was a group at 18% that said they had not heard of it and still weren't interested, and the no, but interested group seemed to disappear without any mention of it being below 1% (Meaning we don't know whether they asked that question or not).
In total the people that wanted to buy the iPad increased to 9% (from 3%), and "wait and see" people increased to 21%. The only way you could say that people are less interested is from the total of "not interested" going from 62% to 70%. Which to honest, is a very minor difference considering that this is a new product announcement that no consumer has been able to put their hand on.
I'd call it a pretty deceiving graph.
This is a fun survey.. more of what people want that doesn't exist is so exciting! but, if the market for under $1000.00 computers amounts to 150 million units per year (correct me if this is wrong with the right number) and most of those are well under $700. And the ipad makes a 3 or 9 or 21% dent in that market after filling its pipeline of early adopters and "choice" customers who go to the ipad versus a competitor laptop/ net book for $500.. that amounts to 4.5, 13.5, or 31.5 million units sold. I would guess ramp up of the ipad will hardly meet demand, and it will be in the space between 4.5 and 13.5 million units sold... TEN MILLION seems like a fairly good bet to me.. This survey doesn't define the real customer for the ipad at all. It also doesn't take into account who is planning to buy a computer, a book reader, a portable appliance to carry on trips.. a game player etc etc etc.. So, the survey is missing entirely the target market. it has not basis that i can determine? http://www.retrevo.com/ is a sight to market products.. by giving the impression that they are an unbiased salesperson informing you of what is available or will be available.. it is so close to meaningless even what i am writing has very little is ANY merit!
$130 extra for 3G is a rip-off. The chip and antenna probably cost $0.50. Hell, the chip is probably just disabled in the non-3G.
Wow, with that much trust in a company you shouldn't buy anything from them. And so, why bother?
As a Dutch saying goes: "zoals de waard is vertrouwd hij z'n gasten". I think that sums it up quit nicely.
Do you have a personal (factual) reason to be so negative?
J.