Why CX Scores Are Declining—and How to Reverse the Trend
Customer experience (CX) quality in the U.S. declined for the third consecutive year in 2024 , hitting an all-time low (69.3) in the nine-year history of Forrester’s CX Index. CX scores dropped for 10 of the 13 industries and 39% of the brands represented in the survey.
To reverse the downward trend in customer experience, brands need advanced CX technology that makes it easier and more pleasant for customers to interact with brands and get their needs met. However, CX leaders must first persuade decision-makers to allocate more funding to customer experience initiatives and technology. That can be challenging, given that CX is not a key part of the brand identity at 80% of companies , Forrester found. Leaders at those companies require proof that CX investments are worth their costs.
How can CX teams encourage business leaders to prioritize CX? Keep reading to discover five best practices to show ROI for CX projects.
CX Deserves Top Billing
Why should business leaders care about declining CX scores? There’s a direct relationship between CX and revenue. According to a Forrester report, a one-point improvement in the CX Index score increases the annual incremental revenue per company by:
$619 million – retailers
$366 million – home and auto insurers
$114 million – multichannel banks
Given the big impact of CX on the bottom line, Forrester expects that companies with declining CX will see “higher churn rates and diminished brand reputation , which can hinder new customer acquisition and erode market share.”
Most Brands Aren’t Meeting Customer Needs and Expectations
CX performance dropped across all three dimensions of CX quality—effectiveness, ease and emotion.
Experiences are more difficult and less effective than ever. Only 66% of customers said brands are easy to work with, down from 69% in 2023 (the previous record low). Fewer customers said brands are effective at meeting their needs (64%, down 3 percentage points from 2023’s previous record low). And fewer customers (59%) say their interactions with brands are emotionally positive, compared to last year (60%).
The percentage of customers who say brands succeed on cross-industry CX drivers also declined from 2023:
