The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), published by the National Quality Research Center at the University of Michigan Ross Business School, issued its quarterly release on November 14, 2006. The ACSI is an economic indicator based on modeling of customer evaluations of the quality of goods and services purchased in the United States.

For the third quarter of 2006, the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is unchanged from the second quarter. At a score of 74.4, it remains near its all-time high and 1.6% above where it was a year ago.



The consumer non-durables sector, measured each year in the third quarter and reported in the fourth, improved by 0.6% to an ACSI score of 82.3 - the highest of any sector in ACSI. Customer satisfaction is traditionally higher for non-durables than for other industry sectors. Very little service is required, either before or after purchase. Consumers have access to a multitude of products, brands and purchase alternatives - and very few things go wrong with them. Switching-costs are relatively low so the existence of many unhappy customers at any given time is unlikely. Finally, prices have not increased much - at least not relative to gasoline, energy, or health care.

High levels of buyer satisfaction suggest higher spending, but consumers' inclination to spend is always tempered by the availability of cash and credit. With the mid-year slowdown in the economy, it is usually assumed that consumer spending will slow as well. Yet, there are some signs that spending may not weaken. Interest rates have stabilized. Oil prices are coming down. The stock market has been doing well. Customer satisfaction is high. On the negative side, home prices have been falling. Overall, however, it does not look like spending will be much different during the remainder of the year.

For more information on the ACSI and its most recent release, visit www.theacsi.org.