ANN ARBOR, Mich., (December 13, 2022) – Customer satisfaction in the Manufacturing/Nondurables sector takes steps in the right direction.
According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index’s (ACSI®) Nondurable Products Study 2021-2022, athletic shoes and soft drinks both surge 4% to 81 (out of 100), placing them atop the Index. Of the four remaining categories, breweries also improve, up 1% to an ACSI score of 80, while food manufacturing slips 1% to 79. Apparel (78) and personal care and cleaning products (79) remain unchanged overall, but the latter features some strong leaders within the industry.
“Most nondurable products industries do quite well in the Index as they offer frequently purchased items that typically display strong quality,” says Forrest Morgeson, Assistant Professor of Marketing at Michigan State University and Director of Research Emeritus at the ACSI. “Nevertheless, while the personal care and cleaning products industry is stable for now, if inflation persists, it is likely to take a toll on customer satisfaction moving into next year. The industry leaders are in the best position to handle any negative repercussions of higher prices as both Clorox and Procter & Gamble are quality pacesetters, scoring well above their competitors.”
Hershey’s and Quaker separate themselves among food manufacturers
Hershey’s and PepsiCo’s Quaker top the food manufacturing leaderboard after each improves 1% to an ACSI score of 83.
Down 1% to 81, the group of smaller food makers is next, followed by Dole, which rises 1% to 80. General Mills slides 2% to 79.
Four companies score 78: Ferrero (unchanged), Kellogg’s (unchanged), Mars (down 5%), and Tyson (up 3%).
At the bottom of the industry, Campbell’s (down 3%) and Conagra (up 3%) both score 77, while Kraft Heinz tumbles 5% to an industry-low score of 76.
Coca-Cola puts a smile on customers’ faces
After finishing at the bottom of the industry last year, Coca-Cola now leads all soft drink makers, rising 6% to an ACSI score of 82.
The group of smaller soft drink makers remains unchanged at 81 but shares second place with Keurig Dr Pepper, which improves 3% year over year. PepsiCo takes last place despite a stable score of 78.
Beer makers have something brewing again
The group of smaller breweries – including brands like Samuel Adams and Yuengling, and numerous craft labels – remains in first place with an unchanged ACSI score of 82.
Among the big brewers, ACSI newcomer Constellation Brands leads the way at 81, followed by Anheuser-Busch InBev, which improves 1% to 79, and Molson Coors, which inches up 1% to 78.
Competition between Proctor & Gamble and Clorox takes center stage
Clorox stays atop the personal care and cleaning products industry with a steady ACSI mark of 83 — but it’s no longer alone. Under new CEO leadership, Procter & Gamble goes from last to first, jumping 11% year over year to take a share of the lead.
Henkel, up 3% to 80, is next, just ahead of the group of smaller manufacturers – including brands like Arm & Hammer, Sensodyne, and others – which slips 1% to 79.
Colgate-Palmolive (down 3%) and Johnson & Johnson (up 4%) score 78 apiece, while Unilever finishes in last place after stumbling 3% to 77.
Levi Strauss storms to the top of the apparel industry
Levi Strauss now leads the apparel industry following an 8% surge to an ACSI score of 81. PVH debuts in second place at 80.
Hanesbrands moves into third after improving 5% to 79. The group of smaller clothing companies and VF both finish last, each sliding 1% to 77.
Strong debuts for New Balance and Skechers
New Balance makes its ACSI debut atop the athletic shoe industry with a score of 82. In second place, Nike improves 4% to 81, tying ACSI newcomer Skechers.
Adidas (unchanged) and the group of smaller athletic shoemakers (up 1%) each score 79.
The ACSI Nondurable Products Study 2021-2022 is based on interviews with 6,076 customers, chosen at random and contacted via email between October 2021 and September 2022. Follow the ACSI on LinkedIn and Twitter at @theACSI.
No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the data and information in this release without the express prior written consent of ACSI LLC.
About the ACSI
The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI®) has been a national economic indicator for over 25 years. It measures and analyzes customer satisfaction with more than 400 companies in 47 industries and 10 economic sectors, including various services of federal and local government agencies. Reported on a scale of 0 to 100, scores are based on data from interviews with roughly 500,000 customers annually. For more information, visit www.theacsi.org.
ACSI and its logo are Registered Marks of American Customer Satisfaction Index LLC.