[Sponsored Report] A happier year ahead for local consumers

In 2010, the NCSI for non-durable goods manufacturing and wholesale distribution is expected to rise. In the first half of 2009, most manufacturers did not develop new products and improve quality. This resulted in a 0.8-percentage point drop in their NCSI result, while wholesalers’ fell 2.1 percentage point.

However, in the second half of 2009, there were signs of a recovery in consumption, prompting companies to work to become more competitive, especially in the distribution industry. More firms will diversify and work on product quality in 2010. Since the economy recovery is expected to gain speed, boosting national income, non-durable goods and wholesale, which are intimately related to consumption, will also rise. Department stores seeking to change into malls are competing with offline stores, eating into Web sites’ clientele. Barriers to entry in manufacturing have lowered, especially in alcohol, so already existing companies are expected to concentrate on providing differentiated services to achieve profit and growth.

In the financial world, outside of securities firms, most of the industry showed no change. After a big drop in 2008, securities services recovered slightly in 2009. The sector is sluggish because of the slow economic recovery, but 2010 will likely bring an overall rise. NCSI shows high correlation with a firm’s investment rate in customer satisfaction. In 2010, as the recovery adds speed, more companies will focus on customer satisfaction.

Finance saw the biggest rise in NCSI score in 2006 and 2007, but then stalled because customers did not feel cared for. That will change.

Lastly, the financial market changes rapidly, at lower cost. Products and service from various companies are also not very different.

For telecommunications, the NCSI industry average rose 1 to 3 points in 2009, and most companies entered the 70s range. After two years of declines, this rise shows how competitive the domestic telecom market is.

Fixed-line telephones, high-speed Internet mobile phones and other telecom services show a 95-percent penetration rate. The market has reached saturation and growth is expected to slow. Average revenue per use is also declining because of government pressure for lower prices and tougher competition. Telecom services will grow slowly. Internet phones will replace long distance, providing a chance for late market entry.

The big three leaders of the telecom market in 2010 have a chance to improve their NCSI scores.

By Lee Ji-hyun [concordia@joongang.co.kr]