February 2, 2012

BETHESDA, MD – Despite investor disappointment at a surprising fourth quarter sales miss, a January consumer survey shows Amazon.com riding a wave of momentum in the new year, according to ChangeWave Research, a service of 451 Research.

The survey of 2,607 North American consumers shows Amazon continuing to grab share in the Home Entertainment market and in overall online sales.

Moreover, the new Kindle Fire tablet – which was on-sale for just six weeks during the 4th Quarter – shows tremendous potential to bring in additional revenue for Amazon, based on the survey results.

Amazon and the Home Entertainment Market

Amazon has increased its share of the home entertainment and computer networking market by 14-pts over the past six months, and is now just 1-pt below its December all-time high in a ChangeWave survey.

At the same time, Best Buy has fallen during this period – and is down 5-pts in January alone to its all-time low in a ChangeWave survey.

Amazon and Online Shopping

ChangeWave also asked shoppers where they'll be spending their online shopping dollars over the next 90 days, and found Amazon continues to outperform all of the other major online retailers included in the survey combined:

We want to learn more about how you will be spending your online shopping dollars over the next 90 days. For each of the following websites, please tell us if you will be spending more money, about the same amount, or less money over the next 90 days compared with the previous 90 days.

One-in-five respondents (20%) say they'll spend more money online at Amazon.com vs. 11% less – numbers that overwhelmingly dwarf the other online retailers surveyed.

Kindle Fire Owners vs. Non-Owners

A closer look at the Amazon results shows that nearly three-in-ten consumers who own Kindle Fire tablets (29%) say they'll spend More Money at Amazon over the next 90 days, compared to 19% of non-owners.

The considerable difference in planned spending between Kindle Fire owners and non-owners highlights the tremendous potential for additional realized revenue that the new tablet brings to Amazon, above and beyond initial sales of the device.

Survey of New Kindle Fire Owners

Since the mid-November launch of the Kindle Fire, consumer demand for the tablet has been nothing less than explosive. In the January survey 6% of respondents reported they own a Kindle Fire – double the percentage of a month ago.

ChangeWave asked 254 new Kindle Fire owners a series of questions regarding their overall satisfaction and key likes and dislikes, to gauge their reaction to the new tablet device.

Customer Satisfaction. When asked how satisfied they are with their new tablet device, better than one-in-two Kindle Fire owners (54%) say they are Very Satisfied. Another 38% say they are Somewhat Satisfied.

In previous ChangeWave surveys we've found that the percentage of tablet owners who say they are Very Satisfied with a particular device is highly predictive of future demand for that device. So how does the Amazon tablet rating match up against other tablet devices?

While the 54% Very Satisfied rating for the Kindle Fire is considerably below the 74% rating of the industry leading Apple iPad*, it is higher than the 49% average rating for all of the other tablet devices combined.

*Apple iPad and Other Tablet Device ratings are from a November 2011 ChangeWave consumer tablet survey.

The survey also asked owners what they like best and dislike most about the new Kindle Fire.

Owner Likes. The Cost of the Kindle Fire (59%) is by far the thing new owners like best about their device, followed by the Color Screen (31%) and its Ease of Use (27%). Other top responses include the device's Selection of Books and its Size/Weight.

Owner Dislikes. The top dislikes reported by Kindle Fire owners are No Volume Up/Down Button (27%), the fact it has No Camera (21%), and that the Battery Life is Too Short (15%). Other dislikes include Lack of 3G/4G Capability and Number of Apps Available.

The complete ChangeWave report is available here.

**Note that ChangeWave also offers this report as part of a quarterly subscription series available for purchase.

About ChangeWave Research
ChangeWave Research, a service of 451 Research, is a survey research firm that identifies and quantifies change in consumer spending & electronics trends, telecom trends, and corporate buying & business trends. This is accomplished through a weekly series of large sample surveys to its network of 25,000 accredited business and technology professionals, and early-adopter consumers, working in more than 20 industries. To learn more visit www.changewaveresearch.com.

About 451 Research
451 Research, a division of The 451 Group, is a leading global analyst and data company focused on the business of enterprise IT innovation. Clients of 451 Research – at end-user, service-provider, vendor, and investor organizations – rely on 451 Research's insight through a range of syndicated research and advisory services to support both strategic and tactical decision-making. For additional information on 451 Research, go to: 451research.com.