Like most manufacturers, Samsung answers to two audiences: end users and the folks who sell them their stuff.
To ensure it’s attuned to the needs of both constituencies, the company commissioned a Consumer and Customer Insights survey last fall. What it found was that shoppers and sales associates are pretty much on the same page when it comes to TVs.
Given today’s surfeit of 75-inch and larger displays, size is no longer an issue for shoppers. Instead, topping the list of consumer wants is a TV that provides “a great picture” under all room-lighting conditions, the survey showed.
For dealers, the desire was more generalized: they simply want to be able to offer their customers the “best technology” available today.
Another beef for shoppers is the actual form factor of today’s large-screen panels, with respondents decrying “the huge black rectangle” in their rooms, Samsung said.
Retailers, on the other hand, put it more diplomatically, asking for new design approaches that can fit more home decors.
Consumers are also peeved by the spaghetti nest of wires and cables coming out of their sets, and said they dislike the clutter caused by multiple remotes.
Similarly, retailers called for “convenient installation options” on models and simple controls for their customers.
Shoppers also complained of difficult and time-consuming set ups of their new sets, and retailers said those challenges often lead to store returns.
Samsung said it managed to address those pain points with its 2018 QLED line through innovations like:
- A single combined connection and power cable, and Bixby voice control, to reduce clutter;
- An “invisible” ambient mode on all QLED models, and the painterly-inspired The Frameline, for improved TV aesthetics; and
- HDR10+ compatibility, and full-array direct backlighting on its top-of-the-line Q8F and Q9F sets, for better contrast in all lighting conditions.
What’s more, for the subset of consumers consumed by gaming, the QLEDs’ adaptive refresh technology provides stutter-free game play.
Perhaps as a result, the survey found that 33 percent of consumers own a Samsung TV, representing the highest brand penetration of any of the company’s product categories (mobile was second at 28 percent), and suggesting the sets are also top-of-mind with retail sales staffs.
The survey findings were shared by Samsung senior product training manager Scott Cohen at a tech media presentation this week in New York.
