The Unbelievable Cost of Friction

The True Cost of Friction Will Surprise You

Imagine a website that takes too long to load. And let’s be real. We don’t have to imagine too hard. It’s something most of us experience every day. It’s a frustrating experience and can be a pain in the @$$.

It causes us to back out of making a purchase or completing a transaction. But at the end of the day, we still want whatever that product or service is. So, we open a new site and get it somewhere else.

This is just one example of customer friction.

Across the entire customer journey, there are so many opportunities for something to go wrong. Terribly wrong.

Everything from your website loading speed to dreaded 404 errors and broken links to your “add to cart” button not working and so much more can make or break the customer experience. You can speculate how much this impacts your business. Or go from guessing to knowing and actually quantify friction. 

Friction is a Costly Enemy

Even just a little friction is the enemy. And eventually all these annoying friction points really add up. This can come at a shocking cost to your business.

Friction hurts customer loyalty and trust. 79% of online shoppers who experience a dissatisfying visit are less likely to transact from that site again. So, say goodbye to happy customers and repeat business, and hello to a damaged brand.

Friction will also hijack your sales funnel or conversion paths. 64% of dissatisfied online shoppers will purchase from another site.

"It’s like if aliens abducted your customers and delivered them to your competitors. They simply vanish," says an unnamed source who would like their identity to be protected.

Of course, that means high bounce rates and abandonment.

But financially, you’ll get less sales and lose revenue. Possibly a substantial amount of revenue. We’re talking millions and billions of dollars. Friction at checkout alone costs $260 billion, according to the Baymard Institute.

Can You Afford to Do Nothing?

The cost of friction in your customer journey adds up. Especially if you don’t take action to remove those obstacles. Or if you spend time and resources removing friction that doesn’t impact the business.

You need a real-time pulse on where customer friction exists on your site. So, you can proactively identify and eliminate friction points in your customers’ journey.

We can talk stats and strategies all day. But, to be successful, you must begin with quantifying customer friction on your site. This will help you uncover your biggest revenue opportunities.

Last year, we revealed more than $2.7 billion in friction cost alone for our online and omnichannel customers. For a single retailer, hidden issues with their content delivery network (CDN) and tag managers created customer friction costing them $40 million per month! Now, that's friction quantified! 

Like a Cargo Ship in the Desert

It’s crucial to reduce friction and provide customers with a fast, easy experience. Or else it’s like a cargo ship in the desert.

It’s much harder to navigate than in the open water. Some may say impossible.

Customers will have a similar experience when they are met with friction on your site.

They’ll hesitate. And it’ll be a rough journey. So, you must provide as friction-free an experience as possible to build customer trust and loyalty, and increase revenue.