What Coros Is Really Asking Its Customers

Coros has just sent a detailed questionnaire to existing customers, and the questions reveal that the company is considering significant changes to its operations. I’ve gone through the survey, and here’s what I think they’re really trying to find out.

 

 

Pricing and Value

Several questions probe what drove customers to choose Coros—build quality, style, features, price, and battery life. This tells me the company is testing whether it can sustain its recent shift toward premium pricing.

Coros built its reputation on solid features at a compelling price, though it lacks Garmin’s depth. But pricing has crept up lately, making the company uncompetitive to informed buyers when superior Garmin models go on sale. Battery life has always been a winning differentiator, but AMOLED displays are eroding that advantage. By asking what matters most, Coros seems to be checking whether its feature set justifies the premium.

Retail and Distribution

A telling question asks whether customers physically touched a Coros product before buying. This is clearly about the retail network. Most companies would prefer direct digital sales if it didn’t cost them customers—that’s the most profitable setup. A related question about purchase channels is whether Coros could scale back both physical and digital retail partnerships, perhaps focusing solely on Amazon.

Marketing and Influence

The survey asks where customers first heard about Coros—events, coaches, ads, Reddit, sport clubs, reviewers, influencers, pro athletes, podcasts, Strava. Notably absent is any mention of chatbots and AI, which are increasingly shaping how consumers discover products.

The obvious trend is a shift from written reviews to YouTube and visual media. But the company might be missing the original opinion formers. Sites like DCRainmaker and the5krunner (this site) influence other content creators—you only have to spot the occasional unusual phrase repeated or incorrect stat rehashed to know that.

App Engagement

Questions about how often customers use the Coros app and Training Hub are pertinent. The app could certainly be improved, but is it worth it? If everyone immediately uploads to Strava, why keep paying for app development? The Training Hub question is particularly telling—many customers don’t even know it exists. It matters to a minority of serious runners, but what resources should Coros devote to them?

Watch Wearing Habits

One of the most strategically critical questions asks how many hours per day customers wear their watch. I’d love to know the aggregate answer for every brand—it’ll never be shared, of course. My strong belief is that many sports watches are only worn for sport, meaning wellness, sleep, and recovery features go unused. If I’m wrong and watches are worn around the clock, that highlights the importance of decent watch faces—an area where Coros fares relatively poorly.

Sport Focus and Training

Questions about primary sport and goal distances will help frame which features need development. Responses would show how important NOMAD actually is to fishermen, rather than to people who just liked the case design. Coros has done well historically by focusing on a good value proposition for runners but has also carved out feature-rich mountain-sports niches early on.

On training plans, I researched coaching apps a few years back and found far fewer runners wanted structured plans than I expected. I suspect Garmin’s Daily Suggested Workouts are more useful to more people. A satisfaction question here suggests Coros may be aware of dissatisfaction with its current offerings.

Customer Support

Coros gets a bad rap for support, and several questions address this. Particularly noteworthy is one about out-of-warranty preferences—paid repair, trade-in discounts, DIY parts, or refurbished replacements. This shows the brand is thinking about retention or has a problem with it. Garmin used to handle out-of-warranty issues generously; less so, in my experience, now. Coros could make real gains here with retention, but it will cost them.

The question about what matters most in customer service—fast replies, effective resolution, or talking to a real person—will likely yield an answer Coros doesn’t want: “real person.” That’s expensive.

Conclusion

This survey reveals a company at an inflection point, questioning its pricing, distribution, marketing, and service. The questions suggest Coros is evaluating whether to double down on traditional strengths or pivot toward a more premium, direct-to-consumer model. The direction they take could significantly reshape their competitive position.

If you have other insights, drop them in the comments below.

 

Questions

• Q: What was your deciding factor in choosing your product(s). Select a maximum of two.
  • (Product build, Style, Software ecosystem, Size, Product features, Price, Battery Life).
• Q: Did you physically touch a COROS product before buying?
• Q: Where did you first hear about COROS?
  • (At an event, Coach, COROS Ad via internet (Facebook, Instagram, Google, etc), Amazon, Reddit, Sport Club (Running Clubs, Cycling Clubs, etc), Online Tech Reviewer, Instagram Influencer, Pro Athlete, Google, Family/Friends – word of mouth, TikTok Influencer, Retail Store, YouTube Influencer, Podcast, COROS Social Media, Strava, Milesplit/Flotrack)
• Q: How did you purchase your COROS product(s)
  •  [COROS Website, From a friend/family member, I was given a used product, Amazon, Online Retailer other than Amazon, Retail Store in person, Other].
• Q: If you have had multiple COROS products, what was the time gap between purchases?
  • [I buy new product(s) every year, 1-2 years, 2-3 years, 3-5 years, Only when my product dies, This is my first COROS device]
• Q: How often do you review your activity data within the COROS App?
  • [I never have, 1-2x a month, 1x/week, 3-4x/week, Nearly every day] a
• Q: How often do you review your activity data in the COROS Training Hub (web version of the app)?
  • [I never have, 1-2x a month, 1x/week, 3-4x/week, Nearly every day]
• Q: Do you use another sport tracking software other than COROS? [Yes, No] plus – What sport tracking software do you use?
  • (Strava, TrainingPeaks, Final Surge, TrainerRoad, Kaya, VDot, Google fit, Hevy, Runkeeper, Other)
• Q: How many hours per day do you wear your COROS watch?
  •  [I don’t own a watch, Only when doing physical activity, Most days, All the time, including sleep]
• Q: What sport do you focus on most? (I answered running, which affects subsequent questions)
  • [Road/Track Running, Trail Running, Cycling, Climbing, Fishing, Skiing, Triathlon, Strength Training, Other]
• Q: What distance/event do you set your personal goals to?
  • [0-5km, 5-10km, 10km-half marathon, Half marathon-marathon, Ultra distance]
• Q: Have you ever utilized a free COROS workout or training plan provided in the app or on the website?
•  Q: How would you rank your satisfaction with our workouts/training plans?
•  Q: My COROS product was easy to setup and get started.
•  Q: When you’re trying to learn more about your product(s), what resources help the most?
  • [YouTube or other video resources, Emails with more information to learn from, Online help centres, Physical user guides]
• Q: I often discover new features on my device or in the App that I didn’t know existed. [Strongly Disagree, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Strongly Agree]
•  Q: Did you contact COROS Support in 2025? (Did) COROS made it easy for me to handle my issue.
•  Q: If your device is ever outside of its warranty period and requires service, which of the following would you value most? [Paid repair service, Trade-in discount for a new model, Access to DIY repair parts/guides, A refurbished replacement at a reduced cost]
•  Q: If you had to choose one, what is the most important thing to you when you speak with customer service teams? [Fast replies, Effective resolution, Talking to a real person, Other]
•  Q: Did you find the COROS online help center resources to be helpful in solving your problem? [I haven’t used the help center, Strongly agree, Agree, I did not find the help center, but looked, Disagree, Strongly disagree]

 

Last Updated on 30 January 2026 by the5krunner