Soft Drinks Still Tops in Customer Satisfaction

NACS Daily News

Americans are also pleased with their preferred brand of cigarettes and beer.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Customer satisfaction with four nondurable categories comprised of everyday consumer purchases remains relatively stable, according to a report by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Purchasers of beer, soft drinks, cigarettes or personal care and cleaning items are still pleased with their chosen product, with all four industries showing changes in their ACSI scores of 1% or less compared with a year ago. While U.S. sales have slumped for sugary sodas, beer and cigarettes, factors such as high quality and product innovation keep customer satisfaction relatively high and stable for these industries.

The soft drink industry maintains a high level of customer satisfaction in 2012, despite a small downturn of 1.2% to 84 on a scale of 0 to 100. As some consumers eschew carbonated beverages such as sugary colas in favor of noncarbonated offerings like ready-to-drink teas, the major producers are doing a good job of innovating to keep pace with changing preferences.

“Overall, carbonated soft drink consumption declined 1% in 2011, but this has less to do with customer satisfaction than with a shift in consumer preference prompted by growing health concerns about sugary sodas,” said Claes Fornell, ACSI founder, in a press release. “The New York City ban on large-size sugared drinks may be a harbinger of things to come for the soft drink industry, but major firms are responding by investing in other types of beverages in apparent recognition of the market challenges that lie ahead.”

Beer makers face shrinking sales as well, with overall consumption down 2% in 2011. The industry’s score slips 1.2% to 81, which is about average for brewers over time. Higher prices and a weak economy prove challenging for major brewers, with the smaller craft and specialty segment continuing to be the bright spot in the market.

Customer satisfaction with tobacco products picks up for a third consecutive year, rising 1.3% to an ACSI score of 79. With this score, the industry just surpasses the ACSI level it achieved four years ago, before new tobacco taxes drove up retail prices. Overall cigarette consumption in the United States, however, continues to decline.

“In the midst of a weaker economy, price plays a role in both slowing consumption and keeping the cigarette industry’s satisfaction lower relative to other nondurable categories,” said Fornell. “At the same time, tobacco users continue to view the quality of cigarettes to be quite high.”