The quality of customer experiences delivered by most Canadian brands remained admirably stable during the COVID-19 pandemic. After three years of stability, however, CX quality dipped. This probably is not shocking. Over the last 12 months, consumers and companies alike have endured inflation rates, supply shortages, and shifting expectations. Each are difficult to manage. They were bound to impact experiences. What specifically changed? Results from Forrester’s Canada Customer Experience (CX Index™), 2022, are now available. This year’s study reveals the scores and rankings for 101 brands across nine industries.

Emotional Quality Suffered The Most

The decline in overall CX quality across Canadian brands is due to a drop in the emotional quality of the experiences they provide. Emotion is the most important of the three dimensions of CX — effectiveness, ease, and emotion — for evoking customer loyalty behaviors. Companies in Canada delivered experiences that are less likely to elicit feelings of respect, value, and appreciation, which are some of the most important positive emotions for customers.

At the same time, the top 5% of brands succeeded in maintaining their CX quality, in part because they continued to provide high emotional quality in their experiences. These elite brands provided, on average, 15 percentage points more emotionally positive experiences compared to the rest of the field (21% versus 6%).

Auto Manufacturers Continue To Top The Charts

Luxury and mass market auto manufacturers are first and second, respectively, in our industry rankings. The mass market auto manufacturing industry held its ranking despite a drop in its score. The investment and retail industry average scores also dipped, falling behind credit card issuers.

To see the rankings of all 101 brands in the Canada CX Index and a much more detailed analysis of the results by industry — including every brand’s score and the emotions that drive loyalty the most — check out our report: The Canada Customer Experience Index Rankings Report, 2022.