American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)

Economic indicator established in 1994 by the american society for quality and the University of Michigan Business School that measures customer satisfaction in each of seven sectors: manufacturing-nondurables, manufacturing-durables, retail, finance/insurance, public administration/government, transportation/communications/utilities, and services. In each of the sectors, customer satisfaction is studied for its relationship to quality, profitability, and customer retention; results are released on a quarterly basis.