The survey, a performance indicator of Hong Kong business, was conducted by the Department of Management Sciences at City University of Hong Kong (CityU). Specifically, the survey measures consumer satisfaction toward product and service quality.
The latest findings showed that consumer satisfaction among Hong Kong people showed a continuous upward trend from 2002 to 2007.
Last year however, it dropped by 1.6 per cent to its 2004 level of 69.1.
This was most likely due to "the deterioration of the global economic environment", said Dr Geoffrey Tso Kwok-fai, associate professor of the Department of Management Sciences at CityU.
He noted that: "consumer sentiment is affected by people's confidence in the future of the economy."
Of the 68 major goods and services covered in the study, consumers were least satisfied with job-seeking magazines (61.9 percent), entertainment in Shenzhen and private house rentals (each at 64.3 percent).
Tso said: "Consumer satisfaction with private house rentals witnessed the biggest drop which was probably due to the fact that rent did not decrease very much despite the property market's slumping."
Connie Lau Yin-hing, chief executive of the consumer council said: "There are still areas of improvement in various products and servicing sectors, in particular housing."
"Housing is a big investment for consumers, thus it is imperative that we make sure property agents provide good service and convey accurate property information to potential buyers," she added.
City University has conducted the study of consumer satisfaction for over a decade to observe the social and economic situation in Hong Kong.
The 2008 Hong Kong Consumer Satisfaction Index survey was carried out from June to August last year, with more than 10,000 interviews conducted.
It covered commodities and services which are categorized into clothing and personal care, food and drink, housing and related items, transport, information and entertainment and the non-consumer price index items.
