Imperial Hotel and Rakuten Card crowned as No.1 in Customer Satisfaction for 13 consecutive years
Survey across 9 industries, 88 companies/brands of economy hotels, life insurance, non-life insurance, electronic money, and more

The third report (survey conducted from October to November) of 2021 JCSI (Japanese Customer Satisfaction Index) -- an initiative in which Nikkei Research Inc. is a promotional partner, has been announced.

JCSI is one of the largest customer satisfaction surveys held in Japan. The second report includes results of 88 leading companies/brands (75 were chosen to be included in the ranking) across 9 industries (city hotels, economy hotels, fitness clubs, life insurance, non-life insurance, credit cards, movie theaters, QR code payment, and electronic money). This time, the average scores of all 5 industries surveyed continuously from the previous survey (FY2020) decreased.

In the city hotel category, the Imperial Hotel took the top spot for the 13th consecutive year. The second place was Hotel Nikko, replacing the ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel from the previous study. This year's ranking was consisted by 5 companies/brands, a decrease of 3 from the previous 8.

In the credit card category, Rakuten Card ranked first for the 13th year in a row, but its score dropped significantly to 3.1 points, while Aeon Card and JCB Card tied at the second place. The top 5 were all replaced except for Rakuten Card and JAL Card (4th). The number of companies/brands to be included in the ranking was reduced from 15 to 11. American Express Card, ranked third in the previous survey, was excluded this time.

In the life insurance category, where it covered 12 companies/brands, CO-OP Kyosai , which had slipped to second place in the previous year, overtook Todofukenmin Kyosai to regain the top spot by a narrow margin. These two brands are engaged in a fierce competition for the top spot every year. This year, CO-OP Kyosai was 1.3 points lower and Todofukenmin Kyosai was 2.0 points lower than the previous year -- this difference resulted the change of their spot. Among the 8 companies/brands excluding Kyosai, Sony Life Insurance (overall 4th) would be the top, with Aflac (overall 5th) in the close second.

Sony Assurance, an automobile insurance company, took the top spot for the second year in a row, among the 17 non-life insurance companies/brands, although dropping 3.1 points from the previous survey. SBI Insurance, Saison Automobile and Fire Insurance, and the Todofukenmin Kyosai all tied in second place. Todofukenmin Kyosai ranked first among 7 companies/brands of home and fire insurance companies, its second year in a row.

As for economy hotels, which were not surveyed in the previous survey due to the impact of the pandemic, Dormy Inn took the top spot, taking over Richmond Hotel by just 0.1 points. The number of companies/brands surveyed was reduced from 9 (FY2019) to 7 this year.
The fitness club category, which was also surveyed for the first time in two years, Curves took the top spot among the 6 companies/brands, with the addition of Anytime Fitness. Curves has been in the top spot for 6 consecutive years.

In addition, a special survey covering the movie theaters, QR code payment, and electronic money was also conducted.
For the first time in two years, UNITED CINEMAS (CINEPLEX) took the top spot among 5 companies/brands in the movie theater category. 109CINEMAS, which was No.1 in the previous survey, came in third. Despite its score increase, it could not take over UNITED CINEMAS' growth.

In the QR code payment category, which was renamed from the cashless payment category, PayPay, which was the previous third, took the No.1 position among 6 companies/brands, including au PAY. In the electronic money category, which was surveyed for the first time this year, QUICPay was selected as top among 6 companies/brands.

The JCSI is based on the Customer Satisfaction Index developed at the University of Michigan in the U.S. The index was developed by the Service PRoductivity & INnovation for Growth (SPRING) of the Japan Productivity Center with support from the Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Nikkei Research has been deeply involved in the development of the JCSI since its foundation.

For the detailed ranking of each industry, please refer to the Japan Productivity Center’s (SPRING) press release.
https://www.jpc-net.jp/research/detail/005629.html
(*Available only in Japanese)


As a promoting partner of JCSI, Nikkei Research not only sell reports but also support planning and designing customized surveys based on JCSI.

About Nikkei Research

Established in 1970, Nikkei Research is global marketing research and consultancy firm headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. As a member of the world’s largest business and economic focused media group -- NIKKEI, with FT (Financial Times) also in the alliance, the company serves clients across broad industries upon various topics from branding to internal managerial issues. Overseas locations include the daughter company in Bangkok, Thailand, and offices in the United States.
For more information, visit https://www.nikkei-r.co.jp/english/corporate/