Customer satisfaction for the retail and info-communications hit new records in the first quarter of 2013, an annual study by Institute of Service Excellence at the Singapore Management University has shown.

Satisfaction scores for the retail sector climbed 3.0 points to 72.2, led by the strong performance of departmental stores, furniture stores, petrol device stations and supermarkets. The scores are measured on a scale from zero to 100.

The info-communications sector improved by 1.7 points to 67.7. Of the three major telcos, Singtel fared the best, topping the broadband and mobile telecommunications sub-sectors. The data collected also showed a developing trend that customers who have subscribed to a mobile telco for more than two years had lower levels of customer loyalty than newer subscribers.

The Institute of Service Excellence at the Singapore Management University has been tracking the scores since 2007. For this latest study, the team conducted 7,656 face-to-face interviews with local residents in their homes and departing tourists at Changi Airport between January and April.