South Korean customers were more satisfied with their goods and services in 2023, compared to those in the US, Japan and Singapore, according to the National Consumer Satisfaction Index published annually by the Korea Productivity Center.

The index is not only a measure of consumer satisfaction, but an indicator of the economic performance of companies, government agencies and the economy as a whole. Similar standards have been adopted by over 30 countries worldwide, which use the same metrics to measure the performance of different sectors and industries.

In 2023, Korea’s NCSI recorded 78.2 points, down by 0.2 points from 2022. Korea's score was 3.1 points higher than the American Consumer Satisfaction Index, which logged 75.1 points in the same year. Korea scored higher than the US in 15 out of 41 comparable economic sectors.

In particular, Korea held the largest lead of between 9 and 12 points in fuel stations, internet service and hospitals. It fell behind by between 3 to 6 points in the food and beverage, and electric vehicle sectors.

Korea’s satisfaction index has surpassed that of the US since 2019 with an ever-increasing margin. However, the gap narrowed in 2023 to 3.1 points from a 5-point margin in 2022.

The Korea Productivity Center attributed the decline in the margin to Japanese and Chinese companies recently earning high levels of customer satisfaction from the automobile and home appliance markets in the US.

Meanwhile, Korea’s NCSI ranking was also generally higher than that of Japan.

The sectors in which Koreans showed a higher level of consumer satisfaction include regional and commercial banks, brokerage, convenience and department stores, supermarkets, wireless telecommunications, insurance, fast food chains, and restaurants. Meanwhile, Korea lagged behind Japan in the e-commerce sector by 4.5 points.

Finance-related sectors showed the largest gap, with Korea leading by 6.7 and 5.7 points in regional banks and commercial banks, respectively, and by 7.5 points in the brokerage sector.

Korea also outranked Singapore in consumer satisfaction across all 16 comparable sectors.

High-speed internet services recorded the widest margin, with Korea scoring 9.7 points higher than the Southeast Asian country. Korea also scored higher in the areas of internet television services, department stores, mobile services and e-commerce.

Modeled after the ACSI developed by the University of Michigan, the NCSI was launched in 1998 and has worked to encourage companies and the government to provide better goods and services.

Satisfaction levels are measured through in-person reviews, and serve the purpose of gauging how healthy the economy is, according to the Korea Productivity Center.