A direct measure of how satisfied customers are with a specific interaction, usually a post-support survey scored as the percentage of positive responses. CSAT turns support from a cost centre into a signal: it tells you where the product, fulfilment, or experience is generating friction. Service recovery, fixing it well when it goes wrong, is one of the strongest retention levers you have.
Benchmark. Target CSAT of 85%+ (the ecommerce average is ~79%); the best DTC support teams run 90%+. The trend matters more than the absolute, a falling CSAT is an early warning before it shows up in retention.