After two years and 50 episodes of The Frictionless Experience, we have spoken with more than 40 guests: executives in UX, chief digital officers, marketers, technologists, and product leaders.
Our mission from the start has been to uncover how brands can remove friction, or strategically add it, to create better digital journeys. In our latest episode, we share everything that we've learned so far about friction.
Reaching this milestone gave us the opportunity to pause and reflect. What themes kept surfacing? What have we learned from some of the most innovative thinkers in digital experience?
Here are the six biggest lessons that stand out from our first 50 episodes.
When we first launched the podcast, we defined friction as “anything that stops the journey.” Over time, we realized the reality is more nuanced. There are at least three types of friction:
Several guests from the financial services world shared how introducing purposeful friction actually builds trust. If a transaction goes too quickly, customers worry something is wrong. Similarly, friction is essential to prevent fraud or protect against regretful financial decisions.
One of our favorite examples came from Dunkin’ Donuts. The brand experimented with removing friction by letting regulars’ orders trigger automatically as they drove by. Customers could just tap “yes” to confirm. It seemed convenient, but it also killed impulse add-on purchases. The result was lower revenue, so Dunkin’ eventually discontinued the feature.
Lesson: Friction is not always the enemy. Applied thoughtfully, it can build trust, prevent errors, and even boost business outcomes.
We heard countless stories of companies chasing the wrong metrics. A memorable one involved a CEO who wanted to add a streaming music player to their e-commerce site to increase “time on page.” The company did not sell music, and the feature slowed down the site while spiking hosting costs. Time on page went up, but sales did not.
As several guests reminded us, metrics only matter when they are tied to meaningful business outcomes.
Speed, clicks, and time are useful proxies, but only if you can connect them back to revenue, customer lifetime value, or another core outcome.
Lesson: Do not optimize for vanity metrics. Optimize for the outcomes that matter most to your business.
One surprising insight was that loyal customers are often the ones who suffer the most friction.
A Wharton study showed that loyal customers become more upset when they encounter problems, because they interact with the brand more often and have higher expectations. If the checkout fails once for a casual shopper, they shrug it off. If it fails for a loyal customer, it feels like betrayal.
We also heard stories about how reducing friction builds resilience and loyalty. For example, Nick described his coffee subscription. Even though deliveries occasionally arrive late or in bulk, the quality of the product and overall experience keeps them loyal.
True Classic, an apparel brand, earned similar praise for their return process. Instead of forcing customers through a complicated multi-step return and reorder, they streamlined exchanges into a single seamless transaction. That small choice strengthened trust and repeat business.
Lesson: Loyalty is fragile. Remove friction consistently, or risk alienating your best customers.
You cannot measure friction by looking at single moments in isolation. What happens in one channel bleeds into perceptions of another.
Michael Henshaw shared a striking example: a company mailed backup codes to customers alongside a stack of irrelevant marketing inserts. Customers were not just annoyed, they were furious. Eliminating that single touchpoint saved the business millions annually and improved satisfaction.
Other guests pointed to the complexity of “buy online, pick up in store.” If the website is smooth but the in-store pickup is clunky, the overall journey is still friction-heavy.
Lesson: Evaluate the whole journey. Every touchpoint, from marketing to checkout to delivery, shapes how customers perceive your brand.
It is impossible to create frictionless experiences for customers if your employees are battling friction every day.
Several guests pointed out that employee productivity and satisfaction directly influence customer outcomes. Clunky internal systems slow down service. Frustrated employees deliver worse experiences. And replacing talent is far more costly than removing the friction that drove them away.
Leaders who dismiss employee friction as “just part of the job” miss the bigger picture. Empowered, supported employees are the foundation of seamless customer experiences.
Lesson: Invest in reducing employee friction. It pays off in happier staff, better service, and stronger customer loyalty.
As digital experiences evolve, two themes kept surfacing: simplification and personalization.
Many organizations have fallen into the trap of feature bloat. Well-intentioned teams add more and more capabilities until interfaces become cluttered, confusing, and slow. Guests emphasized the importance of simplifying not just for power users, but for everyone.
This is especially critical as younger generations shift entirely to mobile. For Gen Z and Gen Alpha, the smartphone is not just the first screen, it is the only screen. In this world, “mobile-first” design is not enough. The future is “mobile-only.”
At the same time, personalization is becoming not just possible, but expected. With AI, brands can now deliver on the long-held promise of an “audience of one.”
Guests pointed to retail innovations where AI helps shoppers choose the right product or even anticipate their needs. Walmart’s same-day flower delivery and Home Depot’s “Magic Apron” assistant illustrate how personalization paired with simplification solves not just brand friction, but life friction.
Lesson: The future of frictionless is not about doing more. It is about simplifying experiences and personalizing them at scale.
Looking back at 50 episodes, the biggest revelation is this: frictionless does not mean removing every barrier. It means removing the right barriers while strategically adding the right friction.
When brands tie improvements to outcomes, protect their most loyal customers, think holistically across touchpoints, empower employees, and embrace simplification and personalization, they create experiences that drive both trust and growth.
We are excited to see what the next 50 episodes will uncover, especially as AI, personalization, and mobile-only design reshape the digital experience landscape.