Samsung Electronics ranked lower than its competitors in the household and kitchen appliances reliability evaluation by Consumer Reports, the largest nonprofit consumer organization in the U.S. with 6 million members. Consumer Reports does not receive test products from manufacturers and verifies the appliances sold in the U.S. through actual customer evaluations and expert performance tests. This objective evaluation method has gained trust among consumers.
According to the industry on the 19th, Samsung Electronics ranked 21st in Consumer Reports' recently released 2024-2025 key household and kitchen appliances brand reliability evaluation. In this survey, Speed Queen, a U.S. company specializing in washers and dryers, secured the top position. Following that, LG Electronics ranked second, U.S. appliance corporation Whirlpool was 12th, GE Appliances acquired by Chinese corporation Haier was 13th, and German Bosch was 15th.
The home appliance brand reliability evaluation is based on 'consumer satisfaction' assessed by actual product users and the 'predicted reliability' index, which is based on the failure rate.
Among Samsung Electronics' home appliance products, kitchen appliances received failing scores. In consumer satisfaction evaluations participated by about 150,000 actual users in the categories of dishwashers, ranges, side-by-side refrigerators, three-door or more French door refrigerators, and cooktops, Samsung Electronics products received scores as low as 15 to 19 out of 100 points. Even when considering kitchen appliances as a whole, Samsung products did not exceed 46 points, ranking lowest among competitors.
In the 'predicted reliability' category, where frequent malfunctions result in lower scores, half of Samsung Electronics' kitchen appliance products scored below 50 points. Regarding the lowest scoring dishwasher evaluation among key brands, Consumer Reports stated, 'The evaluation based on the more than 70,000 units purchased by members found that more expensive dishwashers are not necessarily more reliable.' It further explained, 'Products from Bosch and Miele showed the lowest performance or malfunction occurrence rates, while products from brands such as Samsung with the lowest owner satisfaction and reliability showed frequent issues like inadequate cleaning and drying performance, drainage problems, and faulty dish racks.'
How about home appliances? The satisfaction score of Samsung robot vacuum cleaners by actual users was only 9 points out of 100. In the consumer satisfaction evaluation for the institutional sector of washing machines, Samsung products scored in the 20-40 point range, and dryers also recorded low scores in the 30-point range.
The TV received a good score, salvaging some reputation. Samsung TV scored 83 points in the consumer satisfaction evaluation and 84 points in the predicted reliability evaluation. It received evaluations similar to Sony, which was ranked first, and LG Electronics, which was second.
Overall low consumer satisfaction and poor brand reliability are likely to negatively impact performance. According to U.S. market research firm TraQline, Samsung Electronics relinquished the top position to LG Electronics, recording a 20.9% market share in the key U.S. home appliance market last year, while LG Electronics achieved 21.1%. Samsung Electronics' home appliance institutional sector revenue also declined from 27.35 trillion won in 2022 to 25.49 trillion won last year.
In this situation, marketing expenses, such as price discounts, inevitably increase to maintain sales volume, leading to profitability deterioration. Securities companies estimate the operating profit margin of Samsung Electronics' appliance business (including TVs) was around 3% last year. In contrast, they estimate that LG Electronics' home appliance business (excluding TVs) had an operating profit margin of 6%.
Samsung Electronics' DA Business Division, responsible for the appliance business, stated that it plans to improve profitability based on AI-powered products and business structure enhancement. However, if brand reliability remains at the current level, it could be in vain. To regain the inherent competitiveness of the 'premium' brand and consumer trust, it is urgently pointed out that improvements in product quality, durability, and completion level are necessary.
Samsung Electronics claimed to have received high evaluations from Newsweek and JD Power, unlike Consumer Reports. In Newsweek's evaluation, Samsung refrigerators ranked joint first with LG, and in JD Power's evaluation, Samsung Electronics secured first place in the home appliance consumer satisfaction evaluation for the most number of items. However, considering that Consumer Reports' evaluation is recognized as the most credible standard within the U.S., it seems clear that Samsung Electronics' appliance business must regain the trust of American consumers.