Customer Experience Metrics by Industry 2025

Today, customer experience (CX) has become one of the primary ways companies differentiate themselves from their competitors.

Products can be copied, prices can be matched — but the quality of customer interaction is what defines long-term success.

To understand how companies deliver on these expectations, we conducted a large-scale survey spanning 2025, covering 18,000 consumers across 16 industries, including insurance and banking, healthcare, e-commerce, logistics, and more.

How the Data Was Collected

PissedConsumer is more than a review platform, it serves as a customer insights incubator. Most visitors use the platform to find company contacts and connect with customer service teams, providing a unique opportunity to study fundamental service interactions.

After contacting a company, consumers are invited to complete a post-call survey that assesses the quality, effectiveness, and accessibility of the service they received.

Each survey contains 6–8 industry-specific questions, enabling precise comparisons between companies and sectors.

Based on these responses, we calculated the average indicators of key customer experience metrics for each industry.

Limitations & Considerations

The study reflects data collected through self-reported surveys following customer-initiated interactions.

While the methodology ensures authentic experience data, results may be influenced by:

• Industry-specific contact frequency (e.g., banking vs. real estate)
• Customer expectations differ by service type
• Varying survey response rates across industries

Therefore, benchmarks should be interpreted as directional performance indicators rather than absolute scores. Companies are encouraged to calibrate these insights against their own customer base and CX maturity level.

Understanding Key CX Metrics

Customer experience can seem vague until it is measured with precise data. To see how well your company serves customers, you can track five key CX metrics (CX benchmarks) over time:

• CES (Customer Effort Score): how easy it is for customers to reach and speak with support.
• CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score): how satisfied customers are after interaction.
• Resolution Rate: the share of customer issues that were fully resolved.
• Average Resolution Time: how long it takes on average to resolve an issue.
• Customer Retention Intent: how many customers intend to continue using the company’s services.

Together, these indicators form a comprehensive picture of customer service reporting metrics, showing not only how customers feel but also how efficiently a company handles their needs.

Why CX Benchmarks Matter

Knowing how your company compares to the market is the first step toward growth. You can’t improve what you don’t measure, and you can’t lead if you don’t know the standard you’re up against.

Customer experience benchmarks help determine whether your customer service performance is strong, average, or lagging behind that of your competitors. Moreover, there are clear patterns in how CX metrics impact real business outcomes, such as customer loyalty, churn, cost efficiency, and even revenue growth.

Companies that are easy to reach (high Customer Effort Score, or CES), solve issues quickly (high Resolution Rate and short average resolution time), and provide positive experiences (high Customer Satisfaction and retention intent) tend to receive more repeat clients, better word of mouth, and fewer costly escalations.

CES Benchmarks by Industry

The average CES (Customer Effort Score) in each industry indicates how easily customers can reach and interact with support teams. The high CES means help is easily accessible, with concise menus, responsive agents, and efficient handoffs. A low CES indicates increased friction, such as long hold times, confusing systems, or multiple transfers before reaching the right person.

In industries like insurance, restaurants, and healthcare, the average CES is close to 7, so customers can usually reach support without much trouble. In logistics and loan or mortgage processes, the CES is 5, which means it often takes more effort and eventually time to reach a live person.

Q: How would you rate the effort you had to make to speak directly to someone on the customer service team?

☝️Why it matters

Effort is a key factor affecting satisfaction. If customers struggle to reach a company, it leaves a bad impression, even if their issue is fixed later. Making things easier reduces call drop rates, increases follow-up conversions, and fosters stronger, more lasting relationships. That’s why leaders in insurance customer experience and customer experience in healthcare consistently focus on accessibility:

• Simplify IVR trees
• Offer clear callback options.
• Train agents to take ownership of calls, rather than repeatedly transferring them to other agents.

For service-heavy sectors like banking, improving CES usually means responding faster and reducing complaints. 

❗Red flag for businesses

If your average CES is below 6, it means reaching your company feels like a chore. Every additional barrier adds stress and increases the likelihood that frustrated customers will complain publicly. In e-commerce, for example, hard-to-find contact options can lead to negative reviews that could have been prevented with better communication.

Effort shapes the first impression. Before satisfaction or resolution, customers need to feel heard, and that starts with easy access to your support. Make it more straightforward to reach you, and you’ll quickly see improvements in all your CX metrics.

CSAT Benchmarks by Industry

The average CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score) indicates how customers rate their support experience. It measures the quality of service, not the brand as a whole.

​Insurance leads have average satisfaction rates of 52%, with customers often mentioning clear communication and empathetic agents.

Telecom, healthcare, and e-commerce exhibit steady but not exceptional satisfaction levels of 50%, while Logistics, Food Delivery, and loans and mortgages remain the most challenging sectors, with average CSAT benchmarks closer to the 35–38% range.

Q: How would you rate your satisfaction with the customer service representative you spoke to?

☝️Why it matters

Customer satisfaction is one of the most visible CX metrics. It demonstrates how effectively your brand assists customers in resolving their issues.

High CSAT doesn’t just mean happy customers; it also correlates with repeat purchases, lower support costs, and more substantial lifetime value. 

CSAT is also a public signal. Many people check ratings and feedback before choosing a company, so low satisfaction can quickly hurt your reputation via negative reviews. 

❗Red flag for businesses

If your CSAT is often below 40%, it’s a warning sign. This usually means agents couldn’t help customers or had solved their problems, but didn’t provide customers with reassurance. Low CSAT affects all your CX metrics and will be reflected in later retention and churn rates.

Customers may forgive delays, but they rarely forgive indifference. Even a short, friendly follow-up message (“We’re glad we could help today”) can transform a negative experience into a neutral one, enhancing both customer satisfaction and brand perception.

Resolution Rate by Industry

The resolution rate by industry indicates the percentage of customer issues that are fully resolved after support is contacted.

Across industries, the gap is striking.

Insurance, banking, and telecom demonstrate higher rates — around 65–70% — showing strong coordination between departments and empowered support agents. However, in logistics, loans & mortgages, and food delivery, resolution rates often hover between 43–46%, where fragmented operations and limited decision-making rights make whole problem closure harder to achieve.

Q: Did the customer service representative resolve your issue?

☝️Why it matters

Resolution Rate is the backbone of all customer service reporting metrics. It directly impacts satisfaction, churn, and the total cost of service. Each unresolved case leads to additional calls, more time, and increased frustration — all of which negatively impact the bottom line.

Even a slight increase in resolution rate can reduce the need for repeat contacts. That means lower ticket volumes, faster response times, and happier customers — a ripple effect across all customer experience metrics.

Moreover, the resolution rate is closely linked to retention. When customers feel that their issue has been fully addressed, they’re more likely to continue doing business, even after a negative incident.

❗Red flag for businesses

If your resolution rate falls below 50%, it’s more than a performance problem; it’s a sign of process issues. Low rates often mean agents lack sufficient authority, information, or expertise.

Resolution is not just about speed; it’s about ownership. One clear answer that solves the problem builds more loyalty than several polite apologies that don’t. Improving the resolution rate often means changing processes, not just training agents. Empower your teams to fix issues, not just respond.

Average Resolution Time by Industry

The average resolution time indicates the duration required to fully resolve a customer’s issue, from initial contact to final resolution. 

Industries with complex internal processes, such as logistics, financial services, or hotels, often take longer to resolve cases, averaging 2.6 to 3.4 days. Meanwhile, industries such as insurance, airlines, and education handle issues faster, averaging 1.0 to 1.4 days. These results demonstrate that structural complexity, not just agent performance, influences the overall customer experience.

Q: What was the resolution time (from your first contact to resolution)?

☝️Why it matters

Speed builds confidence. When customers see their issues handled quickly, it reduces uncertainty and builds trust, even if the outcome isn’t perfect. Long wait times, on the other hand, lead to more calls, negative reviews, and the feeling that no one cares.

In customer experience, whether in banking or insurance, faster resolutions lead to higher satisfaction and lower churn. Every extra day of delay lowers CSAT and retention intent, so slow service is not just inconvenient—it also costs you revenue.

That’s why many companies now see average resolution time as a strategic KPI, not just an operational one. It’s one of the most useful CX indicators because cutting wait times has an immediate, visible impact.

❗Red flag for businesses is often more than three days; it signals a problem in your process. The cause could be approval delays, poor ticket routing, or weak teamwork between departments.

In customer service in e-commerce, for instance, delays often stem from misaligned vendor communication or refund verification steps — issues that can be fixed with better automation and clearer workflows.

Customers can accept delays if they are kept informed, but silence destroys trust. Improving average resolution time is less about working faster and more about working smarter—by connecting systems, empowering agents, and cutting out unnecessary steps.

Customer Retention Intent by Industry

The average customer retention intent by industry represents the percentage of customers who intend to continue doing business with a company after utilizing its services. It’s the clearest sign of whether your CX builds loyalty or pushes people away.

Q: If you need a similar service or product in the future, will you use the company again?

In restaurants, telecom, and loans & mortgages, retention intent is the highest, averaging 76–94%. These industries benefit from habitual use, frequent interactions, and relatively high service visibility.

Meanwhile, retail, logistics, and especially healthcare lag behind, with retention intent ranging from 41% to 63%, signaling a possible weak emotional connection and lower long-term confidence.

☝️Why it matters

Retention intent brings all CX metrics together. When CES, CSAT, and resolution scores are strong, customers are more likely to return. Retaining customers is also much cheaper than finding new ones, making this one of the most important CX metrics.

A loyal customer base also provides more referrals and leaves fewer negative reviews, lowering both marketing and reputation management costs.

❗Red flag for businesses

If fewer than two-thirds of your customers intend to return, it’s time to reassess the post-service experience. 

Retention is the best measure of your brand promise. Every friction point, like a slow reply, unclear update, or cold tone, weakens it. Focusing on faster resolutions and friendlier communication not only raises CSAT but also builds resilience, since loyal customers are more forgiving.

What we can learn from this

• Industries with frequent human contact (like Restaurants and Healthcare) win on empathy but may lose on speed.
• Sectors with complex internal systems (like Loans, Logistics, or Banking) often suffer from slow resolution, but can fix it through better coordination.
• Digital-first industries (like E-commerce) excel in convenience but still struggle when genuine empathy or manual intervention is needed.

Each industry’s CX story reflects its structure. However, the best companies — regardless of sector — are those that measure their gaps, compare them with the market, and act on insights rather than assumptions.

Using CX Benchmarks to Improve Service

Knowing the numbers is only the first step — what really matters is how you use them. Customer experience data becomes valuable when it drives change. By understanding customer service benchmarks and comparing them to their own, businesses can identify blind spots, set realistic goals, and improve more quickly than their competitors.

1. Identify where you stand

Every company should know its baseline for CSAT, CES, Resolution Rate, Average Resolution Time, and Customer Retention Intent. Compare your own scores with industry averages; this is the best way to see how you stack up against peers. That’s what CX benchmarks are for: they turn “we think we’re doing fine” into real, measurable insight.

Example: If the average resolution time in your industry is 1.5 days and your own takes 3, the problem isn’t the market — it’s your workflow.

2. Focus on what matters most

Some CX metrics influence everything else.

• Reducing customer effort (higher CES) immediately boosts satisfaction.
• Increasing the Resolution Rate lowers operational costs and improves retention.
• Improving Average Resolution Time shortens the feedback loop and builds trust.

Companies that concentrate on these core cx metrics first usually see parallel improvements in CSAT and retention — because customers equate effortlessness with quality.

3. Empower your teams

The best customer experience strategies rely on people, not just tools. Empower frontline agents to resolve common issues without needing to escalate them. Set up internal metrics that reward first-contact resolution, not just call volume or handle time. When employees can act quickly, they deliver better experiences and reduce friction.

4. Track trends, not moments

CX is not a one-time survey; it’s an ongoing conversation. Regularly review customer experience metrics by industry to see how your performance changes over time. Use dashboards or measurement tools to check if your latest efforts are working. This habit builds resilience because data replaces guesswork.

5. Close the loop with customers

Don’t stop at collecting feedback. Leverage survey results, follow up on unresolved cases, and demonstrate that you took action. Companies that act on feedback earn more trust and see better customer retention rates—a clear sign that customers notice when they are heard.

Checklist: Actions for Metrics Below Benchmark

Benchmarks show you the way, but real success comes from action. Understanding, measuring, and comparing your CX insights with your industry doesn’t just help you look good—it helps you get better. Use this data to assess your current position, benchmark your performance, and establish clear goals for improvement.

Conclusion

Customer experience is now about more than just service; it’s about strategy. Companies that make the customer journey smoother, respond quickly, and follow up well don’t just get higher satisfaction scores—they build stronger businesses.

The path to better CX starts with visibility. Understand, measure, compare, and act based on real customer experience data. This is how businesses move from reacting to problems to driving proactive growth.

Want to benchmark your brand or get a deeper analysis of your competitors or industry?

Contact us, and let’s turn your customer feedback into your next competitive advantage.