Small Gain Keeps Customer Satisfaction at Record Level, Says ACSI

Less than two years ago, customer satisfaction in the United States was at its lowest point in 20 years. The decline began about a decade ago and was exacerbated by inflation, supply chain problems, and shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Since then, things have changed dramatically.

American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI^®) at the national level has increased sharply over the past seven quarters. Customer satisfaction improves again in the first quarter of 2024, albeit at a much slower pace, advancing 0.3% to an all-time high score of 78.0 (on a 0-100 scale).

The slowdown in customer satisfaction growth is consistent with slower growth in consumer spending and GDP. Nevertheless, customer satisfaction is at a record level, but so are customer expectations. Historically, expectations have always been higher than subsequent satisfaction. But when the gap is large, it often signals a coming decline in customer satisfaction.

"While inflation has abated, it is probably still a factor because food and housing are now a much higher percentage of household income than they used to be," said Claes Fornell, founder of the ACSI and the Distinguished Donald C. Cook Professor (emeritus) of Business Administration at the University of Michigan. "Even if the proportion of discretionary consumer spending declines, customer satisfaction will still have a major impact on how consumers spend much of their money. Consequently, the economic outlook is fairly positive ? but not without caution."

The ACSI results appear to be inconsistent with most political polls, which typically find that people are not pleased with the economy and are concerned about inflation.

Clearly, inflation has contributed to the decline in customer satisfaction, but only between 2020 and 2022. Before then, the rate of inflation was rarely above 2% and it seems close to returning to that level again. The biggest threat to the economy now is not weak customer satisfaction leading to lower consumer spending, but interest rates and high customer expectations.

The national ACSI score (or ACSI composite) is updated each quarter based on annualized customer satisfaction scores for all sectors and industries. For more, follow the American Customer Satisfaction Index on LinkedIn and X at @theACSI or visit www.theacsi.org.

No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the data and information in this release without the express prior written consent of ACSI LLC.

About the ACSI

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI®) has been a national economic indicator for over 25 years. It measures and analyzes customer satisfaction with approximately 400 companies in about 40 industries and 10 economic sectors, including various services of federal and local government agencies. Reported on a scale of 0 to 100, scores are based on data from interviews with roughly 200,000 customers annually. For more information, visit www.theacsi.org.

ACSI and its logo are Registered Marks of American Customer Satisfaction Index LLC.