In results released on Thursday by the Institute of Service Excellence at SMU (ISES), customer satisfaction fell by 2.6 points year on year to 69.6 for the retail sector; the infocommunications sector registered a 0.9-point dip to 66.8. Tourist satisfaction fell 9.8 points to 69.8, hitting the same level as local customers for the first time since 2008. All four retail sub-sectors that took into account tourist responses – department stores, fashion apparel, jewellery, and clocks and watches – registered decreases. SMU Assistant Professor of Marketing and ISES Academic Director Marcus Lee said: "It is important for service providers to try and meet the ever-changing expectations of their customers. Our analysis shows that satisfaction goes down when the perceived quality of the product or service does not live up to the expectations of the customer."