Americans' satisfaction with companies is showing signs of declining in 2024 after riding a high when the economy rebounded following the coronavirus pandemic.
Customer satisfaction dipped 0.1% in the second quarter of 2024 to a score of 77.9 out of 100, the American Customer Satisfaction Index said Tuesday.
The decline is the first since second quarter of 2022 and satisfaction isn't much better than it was in 2013, ASCI said.
"Although the national ACSI score is only up marginally from a decade ago, it is nevertheless near record low levels. The economy has been strong with solid GDP growth, inflation decline, robust consumer spending, and exceptional employment growth," said Claes Fornell, founder of ACSI and professor emeritus of Business Administration at the University of Michigan.
Why are customers less satisfied with companies?
Some companies have made improvements to customer satisfaction over the last decade, but many haven't, the ASCI said.
Other companies have made big investments in customers and have only seen marginal improvements.
Often, companies blame rising customer expectations for their poor performance, however, the ASCI said this isn't the problem and gap between expectations and satisfaction has remained the same for years.
One reason people may be growing less satisfied are the current economic conditions.
There are signs that household spending is slowing and people are more budget conscious, which could mean they aren't as happy with what they choose to pay for.
Certain industries have more room for improvement, including banks, subscription TV providers and internet providers, the ASCI said.
“Strong and increasing levels of customer satisfaction improve customer loyalty, which has an exponentially cumulative effect on profit,” Fornell said. “Loyal customers also lower business risk, and low risk/high return leads to long-term profitability. In the aggregate, it also has a positive effect on the economy."