American Customer Satisfaction Index hits all-time high

Customer satisfaction with the goods and services that Americans buy reached an all-time high in the fourth quarter of 2006, according to a report released February 20 by the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). The index climbs to 74.9 on the ACSI’s 100-point scale, up 0.7 percent from the previous quarter, and up almost 2 percent from the previous year. This is the highest score the index has had since its first measure in 1994 (74.8).

ACSI has consistently predicted future consumer spending and is an indicator of financial performance at both the company and industry level. The latest ACSI data suggest that satisfied consumers will continue to prop up the economy, driving consumer spending growth of between 3.5 percent and 4.1 percent for the first quarter of 2007.   

“In view of these results, it is not surprising that the consumer continues to lift the economy despite the housing slump,” said professor Claes Fornell, director of the University of Michigan’s National Quality Research Center, which compiles and analyzes the ACSI data.

“The economy may not be coming in for a soft landing. With the confluence of a number of favorable economic factors, there may be no landing at all. Rising wages, little inflation and falling unemployment combined with higher customer satisfaction and strong consumer confidence suggest the trend in spending growth will continue to drive economic growth.”

Every fourth quarter, ACSI measures customer satisfaction for the retail and financial services sectors and e-commerce. Improvements in customer satisfaction occur across the board, with nine of the 13 industries measured in the fourth quarter showing improvements.