American companies expect their customers to stay much longer. That may be making the economy less competitive

“With the suspension of the federal regulation on click to cancel, we should see a slightly better outcome.”

Companies now expect to keep a customer 11.5 years, up from 7.7 in 2002. That number comes from 9,500 acquisitions and $8 trillion in assets, not a survey. Industries where customers stay longest also show more concentration, fewer new entrants, and slower wage growth. Nobody got better at making customers happy. They got better at making leaving expensive.