After four years of decline, customer experience (CX) in the United States has finally ticked back upward. New findings from Forrester’s 2026 Customer Experience Index (CX Index™) reveal a modest but important improvement in overall CX quality, marking the first year-over-year increase since 2021. At the same time, the data shows that organizations still have major ground to regain before returning to pre-decline performance levels.

A closer look at the three underlying dimensions of CX performance–effectiveness, ease, and emotion–reveals encouraging news. In 2026, performance improved on each of these quality metrics, contributing to the rise in overall CX performance. Of the three dimensions, emotional quality had the largest gain, increasing by 1.4 percentage points year over year. This result is significant because emotion is often the strongest predictor of customer loyalty, advocacy, and retention and often the most difficult to improve.

More Brands Have Improved

This year’s uptick is notable not only because average scores increased but also because improvement became more common at the brand level. Among the 225 brands we evaluated in both 2025 and 2026, 26% achieved statistically significant improvements, while just 7% had statistically significant declines. The percentages of brands that improved and declined in 2026 are nearly the opposite of the percentages in 2025, signaling a meaningful shift in momentum.

Continued Progress Is Possible

Despite this encouraging news, leaders should be cautious about declaring victory. Overall CX Index scores and individual quality dimension performance all remain slightly below their 2024 levels and sustained progress over multiple years will be needed to confirm that the long-term decline in CX quality has truly been reversed.

However, this uptick shows that improving CX is possible even in challenging business environments. Organizations that focus on delivering more effective interactions, reducing customer effort, and strengthening emotional connections can generate measurable gains. Continued investment and discipline can continue the momentum.

And don’t forget the other components of Total Experience that can drive growth for your organization: Brand Experience and Employee Experience.

Forrester clients can further explore brand- and industry-level results from Forrester’s CX Index and discuss its role in Total Experience by scheduling a guidance session with me.

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