Apple in a Word: ‘Innovative’, ‘Expensive’, ‘Overpriced’
Americans often equate Apple with innovation and leadership. When asked what one word comes to mind when thinking about Apple, respondents used positive terms like innovative (mentioned by 157 respondents), trendy and quality.
While many Americans admire Apple, it has strong negatives as well. The most frequent negative terms were about perceived high prices: expensive, overpriced and greedy. Apple’s business practices were also viewed negatively: 7 respondents used the word litigious, 5 monopoly and 5 proprietary. Some of those who dislike Apple have an “us against them” mentality, as evidenced by their use of the following terms to describe Apple (and those who like Apple): 17 respondents used the word hipster, 14 pretentious, 13 elitist, 11 snob and 8 cult. No love lost there!
In a national survey by Researchscape, conducted September 8 to 30, 2012, with 1,030 U.S. adults, 54% of respondents used a positive term to describe Apple, 38% used a negative term and 8% a neutral term.
Those with a positive impression appreciated the advanced technology: 14 used the word smart, 11 advanced, 11 creative and 10 technology. Aesthetics came up as well: 12 used the term sleek, 11 stylish, 10 design, 8 modern, and 6 clean.
Straightforward product mentions (judged neutral) were surprisingly rare: 9 mentioned iPhone, 7 iPad, 7 iPod and 5 Mac.
Despite the negatives, when respondents were asked at the start of the survey which companies they most admired, 29.3% chose Apple as the company they admired most or second most, effectively tied with Amazon at 29.4%.
According to ACSI LLC, Apple has had the highest level of customer satisfaction for cellular phones: 83 out of 100 in 2012, with the next closest firms all at 75 (LG, Nokia and HTC). Similarly, Apple leads the personal computer category, with a score of 86 out of 100 compared to the next closest leader, Dell at 81.
Customer Satisfaction with Apple
On a scale of 0 to 100, using the three-question American Customer Satisfaction Index.
| Cellphones | ||
| Apple | 83 | |
| LG Electronics | 75 | |
| Nokia | 75 | |
| HTC | 75 | |
| All Others | 73 | |
| Motorola | 73 | |
| Samsung Electronics | 71 | |
| Research in Motion (RIM) | 69 |
Source: ACSI LLC, sample size 250 per company
| Personal Computers | ||
| Apple | 86 | |
| Dell | 81 | |
| All Others | 80 | |
| Acer | 79 | |
| Hewlett-Packard | 79 | |
| Toshiba | 77 |
Source: ACSI LLC, sample size 250 per company
Study Profile: Company Impressions 12-09
Consumer Impressions of Apple
| Count | Word | Sentiment |
|---|---|---|
| 157 | Innovative | 1 |
| 84 | Expensive | -1 |
| 48 | Overpriced | -1 |
| 37 | Trendy | 1 |
| 26 | Greedy | -1 |
| 24 | Overrated | -1 |
| 22 | Quality | 1 |
| 17 | Hipster | 1 |
| 14 | Pretentious | -1 |
| 14 | Smart | 1 |
| 13 | Elitist | -1 |
| 12 | Sleek | 1 |
| 11 | Advanced | 1 |
| 11 | Creative | 1 |
| 11 | Snob | -1 |
| 11 | Stylish | 1 |
| 10 | Design | 1 |
| 10 | Technology | 0 |
| 9 | Good | 1 |
| 9 | Inventive | 1 |
| 9 | iPhone | 0 |
| 9 | Pricey | -1 |
| 8 | Cult | -1 |
| 8 | Evil | -1 |
| 8 | Modern | 1 |
| 7 | Excellent | 1 |
| 7 | Great | 1 |
| 7 | iPad | 0 |
| 7 | iPod | 0 |
| 7 | Litigious | -1 |
| 7 | Popular | 1 |
| 6 | Clean | 1 |
| 6 | Cool | 1 |
| 6 | Hip | 1 |
| 6 | OK | 0 |
| 5 | Awesome | 1 |
| 5 | Computer | 0 |
| 5 | Futuristic | 1 |
| 5 | Leader | 1 |
| 5 | Mac | 1 |
| 5 | Monopoly | -1 |
| 5 | Phone | 0 |
| 5 | Progressive | 1 |
| 5 | Proprietary | -1 |
Source: Researchscape, sample size of 1,030
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