Like the misunderstood benthic creature it is named for, the Shark brand of vacuum cleaners has swooped with silence and precision to upset its more fancied rivals to be crowned Australia’s most satisfying floorcare brand, according to Canstar Blue.
This is the first time Dyson has been beaten to this crown and, by securing across the board 5-star ratings, Shark has matched Dyson’s 2011 perfect record.
Shark received full marks for Overall Satisfaction, Value for Money, Ease of Use, Noise, Effectiveness of Clean and Size. Miele and Hoover had the equal second most satisfied customers, while Dyson and Electrolux also scored well. Vax and Volta had the poorest response from customers.
“To pick up five-star ratings across all categories is a truly outstanding achievement and a great endorsement of the Shark brand,” said Canstar Blue business unit leader Megan Doyle. “Congratulations to everyone involved at Shark – you are clearly keeping your customers very happy.”
The Shark brand is owned by Euro-Pro Operating, a family-run company based in Massachusetts, in the United States. In addition to marketing floorcare products under the Shark label, Euro-Pro also sells small appliances under the Ninja brand name.
In Australia, Shark vacuums and cleaners have traditionally been sold through the TV home shopping channel, though it has a retail presence through stores such as Target. Shark does not operate a local website but we have attempted to contact Shark’s United States head office for reaction to this win.
Those brands mauled by Shark in this customer survey can take some revenge, however, in Canstar Blue’s Innovation Excellence Awards, launched earlier this week. These awards, which are currently open to entry (until 15 August 2014), will use experts to assess how innovative new appliances have been over the past 12 months. The innovation will be assessed over five variables: Unique, Disruptive, ‘Wow’, Breadth of Impact and Depth of Impact.
In addition to publishing these floorcare ratings, Canstar Blue also provided some interesting insights in the overall market and how consumers are purchasing vacuum cleaner products.
“Buying a vacuum cleaning may seem like a simple enough purchase to make, but when you think about it, it’s actually a significant long-term outlay. Some vacuum cleaners enjoy use around homes for years and years.
“Apparently, only a quarter of the respondents to these results buy a cheap model vacuum, and just replace them when they stop working. It’s possible the remainder of these respondents don’t mind spending a bit more on their appliance.
“Additionally, more than two in five respondents own more than one vacuum, which means there are possibly twice as many decisions to be made when shopping around.”
For more on this topic, check out: Upright & Upstanding: Ultimate Guide to the 2014 Vacuum Cleaner Market.
This author is on Twitter: @Patrickavenell