Apple Customers Confident of Their Next Purchase, Despite Steve Jobs Resignation

Those who were planning a trip to the Apple retail store before CEO Steve Jobs had resigned are not feeling any drawbacks now that Jobs has stepped down, leaving the reins to former COO, Tim Cook, according to a new survey.

The results are in from a recent ChangeWave study which clearly indicates there’s a bit of hypocrisy in Apple customer circles.

Asked whether they’d be less enthusiastic about an Apple purchase should Steve Jobs leave Apple before the man had actually resigned, “nearly one-in-five respondents (18%) said they would be Less Likely to buy Apple products if Jobs stepped down.”

With Jobs now on the Board of Directors and Tim Cook as CEO, customers are suddenly feeling optimistic again about their next purchase.

According to a new survey from ChangeWave Research (a division of The 451 Group) carried out between September 6-12 on 2,297 consumers, “only 4% say Jobs’ resignation makes them Less Likely to buy Apple products in the future, while 89% say it’s having No Effect on their purchasing of Apple products.”

“Since then ChangeWave has asked this question on several occasions, and over this time period the impact of Steve Jobs stepping down has clearly lessened in the minds of consumers,” said the research firm.

What this basically means is that customers, unlike investors, are not identifying Apple (as a company) with Steve Jobs all that much.

Rather, they believe their favorite gadget vendor has a steady future and the potential to innovate with or without Jobs at the helm.

“The results suggest that Jobs’ previous absences have had an ‘inoculating’ effect that over time has allayed consumer concerns on whether the company could operate at the same level without Steve Jobs at the helm,” ChangeWave said.

The firm also carried out a couple of surveys on tablet demand. These reportedly provided even more evidence that “Apple product demand has not been affected to date by the loss of Steve Jobs.”