New report indicates the PC is alive and kicking

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) released their 2016 Household and Electronics Report this week, and the results indicate a possible turnaround for the personal computer (PC).

Halting a three-year decline in customer satisfaction, PCs improved by 1.3 per cent in 2016 to hold steady at 78 per cent. Desktop computers maintained the highest score of 81, while tablets rose by four per cent to 78, and laptops by three per cent to 77.

With the last few years seeing rhetoric that indicates that the PC is dead skyrocket into mainstream consciousness, this may be a good sign that the tide turning back in favor for the PC market.

However, while this is a good sign for PC resellers, we must temper our expectations with findings like this, ACSI director of research Forrest Morgeson tells Computer Dealer News. He warned against getting ahead of ourselves when scores rebound, as even in a declining market, customer satisfaction may bounce back up.

Additionally, Morgeson added that while companies like Samsung and Amazon have high scores at 83 and 80 respectively, those companies primarily deal in tablets and other mobile devices, not traditional PCs.  

A factor in the improvement of the PC score could be loosely tied in with the high customer satisfaction score for computer software, which rose by 9.5 per cent to settle at 81, a new record for the industry. Releases like Microsoft’s Windows 10 have proven to be popular amongst consumers and businesses alike, attributing to this increase in computer software satisfaction as Microsoft’s score itself went up by seven per cent to rest at 80. Windows 10 popularity could have trickled down elsewhere, as companies like Acer, who saw the biggest improvement at 78 after an 11.4 percent increase, scored higher as well.

While these scores may not indicate the resurgence of the PC outright, they may lend further proof to the idea that there is still a place for more traditional PCs in the channel, as long as companies like Microsoft continue to innovate.