Buyer Satisfaction Down In 1995

U.S. consumers were less satisfied overall with the quality of goods and services in the past year, according to a survey released Monday.

“The data suggest that speculation and conventional wisdom about a significant improvement in the quality of goods and services is somewhat offbase,” University of Michigan economist Claes Fornell said Monday.

Overall consumer satisfaction declined 1.1 percent from October 1994 to last month as measured by the American Consumer Satisfaction Index.

The broad manufacturing category of nondurables that includes products ranging from underwear to shampoo, showed a 0.5 percent decline. The decline was led by a 5.6 percent drop in consumer satisfaction with newspaper quality.