Customer satisfaction (CSAT) had more gains than losses in North America, while Europe remained largely unchanged and APAC results were mixed. Globally, 17% of brands improved, 7% declined, and 75% were statistically unchanged. This report presents the 2026 scores and rankings of 462 brands across 13 industries and 13 countries. CX professionals at included brands can use it to benchmark performance, while others can monitor trends in their market or industry.

Customer experience (CX) leaders enter the budget planning cycle for 2027 under greater pressure to scale AI amid volatility. While global CX leaders are optimistic about their resources, organizations risk scaling fragmented data, inconsistent processes, and weak CX foundations — ultimately amplifying dysfunction. To succeed, CX leaders must fund core capabilities like connected data, journey ownership, and governance; cut spend on outdated and low-value activities; and experiment with AI-driven ways to enhance decision-making. This report gives CX leaders practical guidance on where to increase, decrease, avoid, and experiment with CX investments to drive sustainable impact in 2027.

Join Forrester experts and your peers for an interactive presentation that will dive deeper into Forrester’s 2026 Predictions for customer service.Key takeaways: Understand the changing technology, consumer, and market dynamics in store in 2026. Uncover new insights based on Forrester’s research and expert analysis.Prepare your team and your organization for what’s ahead. Target audience level: all levels

CX programs were meant to uncover insights and improve outcomes, yet many have drifted into a fixation on survey scores. These metrics capture only a small fraction of customers, lack statistical rigor, and often fail to reveal clear causality. As a result, organizations chase numbers that are easy to inflate but difficult to act on, mistaking measurement for meaning and undermining the true purpose of CX.This obsession has fueled a cycle of manipulation, where scores are boosted through coaching, selective sampling, or even pressuring customers. Root causes include tying compensation to metrics and lacking authority or tools to drive real change due to CX program immaturity. The fallout is significant: distorted data, eroded trust, employee burnout, and missed opportunities to resolve genuine issues. To break free, CX must shift from score-chasing to insights-driven action, focusing on outcomes and fostering a culture of customer obsession. Programs that evolve into strategic engines of insight will define the future of loyalty, growth, and innovation.Key takeaways: Identify the common ways organizations inflate survey scores — intentionally or not.Identify the root causes of survey score obsession.Identify the business impacts of survey score inflation.Learn alternative solutions to overcome the challenge of survey score obsession.Target audience level: intermediate

Customer satisfaction (CSAT) hit an all-time low in North America, while Europe made some gains and APAC results varied. Globally, 18% of brands declined, 9% improved, and 73% were statistically unchanged. This report reveals the 2025 scores and rankings of 478 brands across 13 industries and 13 countries. CX professionals at included brands can use this report to benchmark their performance, and others can monitor trends in their market or industry.

CX teams face a critical turning point in 2026. After years of stagnant CX performance and mounting pressure on resources, some will break free from legacy practices — especially score obsession — and reposition CX as a driver of business value. Others will cling to outdated approaches and risk deeper irrelevance. This report outlines the key predictions shaping CX in 2026 and provides strategic guidance to help leaders rebuild with advanced analytics, insightful metrics, and pragmatic AI implementation.

The Misguided Pursuit Of Metrics Customer experience (CX) programs were designed to uncover insights, drive improvements, and enhance outcomes for customers while fueling business performance. Yet many have veered off course. Instead of improving experiences, they’ve become fixated on maximizing survey scores, mistaking metrics for meaning. Survey scores are not like other business metrics. They […]

Many organizations manipulate customer feedback survey scores — often without realizing it. This damages the brand, generates unusable feedback, wastes resources, impairs decision-making, and harms employee experience. Manipulative practices often stem from misconceptions about CX management that fuel an unhealthy fixation on scores. Organizations should stop managing survey scores; instead, they should manage employee behaviors, focus on financial outcomes, generate actionable insights, improve experiences, adopt appropriate benchmarking, and foster customer obsession.

CX leaders are responsible and accountable for the technology that the CX team uses to do its job. Effective CX leaders also align their tech purchases with business goals and connect with the broader tech ecosystem in their organization. In this session, we will explore how organizations are getting the most value from their CX tech ecosystem and discuss the future of CX technology. This conversation will be hosted by Forrester’s Colleen Fazio and Rich Saunders will feature open discussion among participants. Please bring your questions and experiences to share with the group.Peer discussions are available exclusively to Forrester Decisions VIP Leaders and Leader license holders for their own participation.

Advanced technologies and analytic methods are redefining how organizations measure experiences and extract insights. CX leaders have an opportunity — and a responsibility — to spearhead this transformation.