Dive Brief:
- Customer satisfaction with U.S. businesses saw its sharpest decline since the COVID-19 pandemic in the latest quarter, according to American Customer Satisfaction Index’s Q2 2026 report, which was released Tuesday.
- The index fell to 76.1 on a 100-point scale, from 76.7 in the first quarter of 2026. Additionally, customer complaints are at an all-time high — nearly doubling over the past decade, according to Forrest Morgeson, associate professor of marketing at Michigan State University and director of research emeritus at the ACSI.
- These consumers aren’t just getting angry on social media, Morgeson told CX Dive. “Customers are taking the time to get in touch with the company and complain, and it's really an indicator that there's a good bit of customer displeasure and dissatisfaction out there.”
Dive Insight:
Dropping customer satisfaction has yet to result in a comparable amount of disloyalty intentions, according to Morgeson. However, companies can still benefit from preparing for defections on a large scale.
Many consumers aren’t sticking with brands because they like them, according to Morgeson. Rather, they feel trapped by a lack of choices. Customers may be frustrated with the experience at Walmart or Amazon, but the alternatives are often pricier — if they exist at all.
This combination of brand concentration and consumer dissatisfaction has happened before, and it poses a threat to companies that don’t take it seriously, Morgeson said. “What we found in the past is that once consumers do have choices, with this kind of dissatisfaction, they're going to take them.”
Companies can prepare for a potential mass defection to ensure they come out on top, according to Morgeson. The key is putting their focus back onto the consumer and delivering good experiences.
A major drive of customer dissatisfaction is corporations posting record profits while raising prices and providing weaker customer service, according to Morgeson. Customers are aware of this disconnect, and businesses that buck the trend have the opportunity to stand out.
“These aren't necessarily expensive strategies, but focus on ways that you can provide additional value to consumers,” Morgeson said. “It can differentiate you in these times when so many companies seem to be losing that focus and not really worrying about the customer, but rather worrying about their bottom line.”
