U.S. customer experience hits all-time low: Forrester report
MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES — Customer experience in the United States has declined for the third consecutive year, according to Forrester’s latest annual report.
The research firm analyzed the perceptions of 98,363 consumers across 223 brands in 13 sectors, revealing an average score of 69.3 out of 100.
This marks the lowest rating since Forrester’s CX Index study adopted its current methodology in 2016.
Inflation and shrinkflation affect consumer value perception
The decline in customer satisfaction comes amid rising inflation and the prevalence of shrinkflation and junk fees.
“Somebody is paying more, but then they’re not seeing the benefit of paying more,” said Pete Jacques, a Principal Analyst at Forrester.
“They’re not getting a better experience that they think should accompany that higher price.”
AI-powered chatbots fall short of customer expectations
Many companies have turned to generative artificial intelligence to improve customer service, but these efforts have often fallen short.
“There should have been more testing, more experimenting, and design work before putting some of these efforts in front of consumers,” Jacques noted.
Top and bottom performers in customer experience excellence
Despite the overall decline, some companies managed to stand out. Pet-care company Chewy topped Forrester’s ranking for the third year in a row, although its score dipped to 81.2 from 84.2. Other high scorers included Tesla, Navy Federal Credit Union, and USAA.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ranked last with a score of 49.6, down slightly from last year’s 50. Despite a pilot program for a free electronic tax filing system, the IRS struggled to improve its customer experience.
An IRS spokesman highlighted improvements made during the 2024 tax filing season, such as answering more calls and speeding up response times.
Other brands in the “very poor” category, with scores between 0 and 54, included USAJOBS.gov and energy company PG&E.
A shift from positive to neutral
“The good news is, it’s mostly a shift from positive to neutral,” Jacques said of the study’s overall results.
“Companies aren’t completely dropping the ball and failing in their experiences.”
As companies and government agencies continue to grapple with customer satisfaction challenges, the need for effective and well-tested solutions becomes increasingly critical.
