# What is CES – Customer Effort Score?

What is CES – Customer Effort Score? How easy it is for a customer to accomplish their goal — a purchase, service request, or return.

## How it works in practice

CES answers one question: is it easy to buy from us? A 3-step checkout means good CES. An 8-step checkout with mandatory account creation means poor CES. Gartner research shows reducing effort impacts loyalty more than 'wowing' the customer.

## Related metrics

- CSAT — CSAT measures satisfaction, CES measures ease
- NPS — together, all three paint a full picture
- Checkout UX — directly tied to CES
- Return Policy — an easy return policy means high CES

## Common misconception

'Making the customer feel special equals loyalty.' CEB research found 96% of customers who experienced high effort reported low loyalty. Only 9% of those who experienced low effort did. Ease beats wow moments in most cases.

## How to fix it

Low CES? (1) Map the customer journey and find friction points, (2) ask 'how many steps are needed to achieve goal X?', (3) reduce unnecessary forms and questions, (4) offer guest checkout, (5) simplify the return process.

## Real-world example

A watch store's CES survey revealed that returning a product required: ①finding the return page, ②filling out a form, ③sending an email, ④waiting for approval, ⑤printing a label. Simplifying it to a 'Return' link in every email with an instant label raised CES and lifted repeat rate by 18%.

## Where to start

Send a CES survey after: (1) checkout (how easy was it to buy?), (2) first contact resolution (how easy was it to resolve an issue?), (3) the return process. Poor CES at these points signals high churn.

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Category: Customer Experience · From the [Jimmy OS KPI Glossary](https://jimmy-os.com/glossary/kpi.md) · Source page: https://jimmy-os.com/glossary/kpi/ces-customer-effort-score