The UKCSI is an independent, national benchmark of customer satisfaction published each January and July across 13 sectors of the UK, conducted by The Institute of Customer Service.  The UKCSI measures customers’ experiences and relationships with organisations on 26 metrics which are based on customer priorities. For over a decade it has provided us with a biannual snapshot of how UK consumers are feeling.

Latest Headline Results

The latest UKCSI report was released at the end of January 2022. Here are some of the highlights. The full report, published by The Institute, is available to download free on their website: instituteofcustomerservice.com/ukcsi

For more detail, including scores for all named organisations, it is also possible to purchase in-depth reports on each sector.

The January 2022 UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) is 78.4 (out of 100), up 1.6 points compared to a year ago

The January 2022 UKCSI is based two sets of data, collected in March / April 2021 (after the start of the vaccination programme but before the re-opening of non-essential retail on 12 April 2021) and in September / October 2021(after the removal of most COVID-19 restrictions in England but before the emergence of the Omicron variant). The improvement in customer satisfaction is likely to reflect this evolving context as well as the customer experience delivered by organisations.

 The biggest improvements are for satisfaction with complaint handling. Despite these improvements, 16.4% of customers experienced a problem, the highest rate ever recorded.

Average customer satisfaction is at least 1 point higher than in January 2021 in 10 of the 13 UKCSI sectors

Average customer satisfaction in the Transport sector is 75.1, an increase of 5.2 points compared to January 2021 and 3.9 points above its January 2020 level.

In the Automotive, Insurance, Telecommunications and Media and Tourism sectors, average customer satisfaction is at least 2 points higher than it was in January 2021.

Customer satisfaction in each of the Banks and Building Societies, Leisure, Retail (Food), Retail (Non-food) and Utilities sectors rose by at least 1 point compared to a year ago.

52% of organisations in the UKCSI have improved by at least 2 points (out of 100) compared to a year ago

In January 2021, over 50% of the top 50 organisations were from the Retail or Leisure sectors but in January 2022 this has dropped to 33%. There is an increased presence among the top 50 from the Insurance, Banks and Building Societies and Telecommunications and Media sectors.

Why has customer satisfaction improved?

In the context of a volatile and uncertain environment for many organisations and customers, The Institute have identified 6 factors that help explain the change in customer satisfaction over the last year.

The leading ethical reasons for preferring an organisation are its focus on customer service, being a local company and commitment to environmental sustainability

Almost 60% of customers chose an organisation for at least one ethical reason. Customers who chose an organisation for an ethical reason have higher levels of satisfaction than other customers. Local relevance appears to be especially salient in the Leisure, Retail (Food), Services, Transport and Automotive sectors. As a result, it will be increasingly important for organisations to demonstrate their engagement with and support for local communities in which they operate.

Based on this UKCSI and the other recent Institute research, they have set out 10 key areas of focus to maintain high levels of customer satisfaction, trust, employee engagement, productivity and business performance