April 21, 2026
U.S. CX Benchmarks Q1 2026: Tech Brands Set the Standard While Banking Loyalty Keeps Falling
Technology companies now outperform every other U.S. industry in customer loyalty, satisfaction and ease of interaction, while banking and credit unions have fallen to the bottom of all three customer experience metrics for the second consecutive quarter. The findings come from QuestionPro’s Q1 2026 Experience Benchmarks report, based on a survey of 1,200 U.S. consumers during March 2026.
Tech Dominance across NPS, CSAT and CES
The newly introduced Technology sector recorded a relative NPS of 54, a CSAT top-two box of 81% and a Customer Effort Score of 81%, ahead of every legacy industry. At brand level, iPhone and Deezer tied for the highest NPS at 48, with Google close behind at 47. Netflix topped CSAT at 92% and led customer effort with an average score of 4.59 out of 5.
The report attributes those results to ecosystem integration, high-quality content delivery and meaningful user interface improvements that built trust during a period of intense competition among tech giants. Social media platforms, however, dragged the average down. WhatsApp posted an NPS of just 4, YouTube Music scored 12, and Instagram came in at 13, all well below the industry average. Privacy concerns, spam exposure, monetisation features and inconsistent recommendation quality all contributed to those low scores.
Banking and Credit Unions in Continued Decline
At the other end of the table, Banking and Credit Unions registered the lowest NPS of any industry at 19, the lowest CSAT at 72% and, tied with Insurance, the lowest CES at 76%. The NPS score alone marks a decline from 26 in Q4 2025 and 41 in Q1 2025, making this the second consecutive quarterly drop and suggesting a sustained erosion of customer loyalty in the sector.
Two banks, U.S. Bank (-10) and PNC Bank (-12), actually recorded negative NPS scores, meaning more customers would actively discourage others from using those institutions than would recommend them. USAA, which scored 56 in Q4, collapsed to 19. Capital One fell from 49 to 21. The report links these declines to increased interest rates, fees, collections activity and policy changes that typically follow the holiday spending season, alongside friction in digital account management and issue resolution timelines.
The one standout was Local Credit Unions, which jumped from 20 to 47 in NPS and led the banking sector in all three metrics. The finding reinforces what earlier research into U.S. consumer banking has suggested. Customers remain with large banks out of inertia rather than satisfaction, and community-focused institutions are better placed to convert that passive loyalty into active advocacy.
Automotive Rebounds, Hospitality Declines, Airlines Split
The automotive sector produced the most dramatic recovery, with industry NPS climbing from 12 in Q4 2025 to 32. GMC and BMW led at 61, followed by Toyota at 55. The report credits fresh inventory and new-year promotions, while Hyundai (NPS of 0) and Volkswagen (4) suffered from tariff-linked sticker shock.
Hotels and Hospitality dropped 11 NPS points from Q4 to 27. Average daily rates rose roughly 1% while service levels did not keep pace, with labour reductions and loyalty programme devaluations adding friction. Even the top performers, like Hyatt (41), Hilton (40), Marriott (39), scored below their Q1 2025 figures.
Airlines recovered modestly, led by JetBlue at 52 and Delta at 35, but Southwest was a notable casualty, falling from 34 to 16 following its assigned seating rollout, checked baggage fees and resulting overhead bin friction.
Customer Effort Score Debuts as a New Metric
For 2026, QuestionPro replaced Likelihood of Repurchase with Customer Effort Score, adding a friction-focused lens alongside NPS (loyalty) and CSAT (satisfaction). The addition is meaningful for CX professionals, given that reducing customer effort has become a central design principle across digital-first strategies. Streaming (88%) and Hotels and Hospitality (85%) led the CES rankings, while Banking and Insurance (both 76%) came in last.
