Customer Satisfaction Rising in Some Categories; Declining in Others

In a troubling sign for multichannel merchants gearing up for the big holiday season push, the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) third quarter report revealed customer satisfaction is down for the first time since early 2005. The Index dropped 0.1 percent to 75.2 on its 100-point scale. Even still, the Index remains 1 percent higher than it was a year ago. The overall ACSI score for a given quarter is based on consumer scores of about 200 companies in 43 industries and from government agencies over the previous four quarters. This ACSI report measures consumer non-durables, one of the highest scoring sectors of the Index. Here are some findings from the report.