Customer Satisfaction Improves

Analysts see the small upswing in customer satisfaction during the fourth quarter of 2012 as positive news.

February 27, 2013

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The national customer satisfaction benchmark gains 0.5% to 76.3 on a scale of 0 to 100 for the fourth quarter of 2012, according to a report released today by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). The rise comes from strong public sector gains combined with moderate customer satisfaction improvement for five of eight retail and e-commerce industries.

"The improvement in overall customer satisfaction is positive news for consumer demand, but with the caveat that a good portion of the gain comes from federal and local government services," said Claes Fornell, ACSI founder, in a press release. "Looking at the economy as a whole, low inflation, shrinking household debt and pent-up consumer demand are starting to fuel consumer spending. At the same time, however, economic growth will be hampered by a still-tepid job outlook, low wage increases, high gasoline prices and the economic uncertainty created by our politicians."

The fourth quarter 2012 national score is based on the ACSI??s annual report on citizen satisfaction with government services, along with new scores released today for retail and e-commerce. The 2012 government report, available earlier this month, shows ACSI increases of 2.2% for federal and 3.0% for local government services.

Whether shopping for groceries, specialty goods like office supplies or electronics, or patronizing stores with a broad array of merchandise, American consumers are seeking the right balance between quality and value, with the latter becoming somewhat more important since the recession. Supermarkets show an ACSI benchmark of 77 in 2012, up 1.3% since 2011.

"Low price inflation for food products in 2012, combined with better service, product selection and store layouts, yields success in the form of enhanced customer satisfaction for supermarkets," said Fornell.

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