Recognize customer barriers
Customers won’t always tell you something feels off, but the signs are there: slower conversions, repeat support questions, or shoppers who drop off before buying. These signals often point to friction in the journey, which can interrupt the experience before, during, or after a purchase.
Spotting and addressing these issues starts with understanding why customers struggle along the journey. Watch the video below to see how friction impacts the customer experience and how to spot it before it drives people away.
How to spot friction
As we've seen, friction often shows up differently depending on who the customer is and where they are in their journey, and it doesn’t always jump out at you. It often shows up in small, repeated moments that confuse customers, slow them down, or make the experience feel disconnected. Expand the examples below to see where it may appear in your own customer journey.
New shoppers feel overwhelmed or lost
First-time visitors arrive at your website with very little context. If there’s no clear guidance or product discovery path, they might bounce before engaging.
Friction may look like:
- The homepage doesn’t reflect the ad or email that brought them in
- There are no personalizations or helpful recommendations
- It's hard to tell where to go or what to click next
How to spot it:
- High bounce rates from paid campaigns or first visits
- Low click-through or scroll depth on key landing pages
- Short session duration on entry pages
Promotion messages don't line up with your website
Customers receive messaging that doesn’t match what they see on-site or hear from your team.
Friction may look like:
- Email or text message offers don’t appear on the landing page
- Support agents aren’t aware of the advertised promotion
- Campaigns lack follow-through across touchpoints
How to spot it:
- Campaign click-throughs with low conversion
- Frequent support tickets about missing or unclear promotions
- High bounce rate after email or text engagement
Customers can't find answers quickly
Shoppers need quick answers to move forward. If they have a question and can’t find help, they may stall or leave.
Friction may look like:
- Key details are buried or missing from product pages and checkout
- Frequently asked questions (FAQ) content is outdated, hard to find, or doesn’t address the real question
- There’s no in-the-moment support or guidance when confusion hits
- Questions require manual support responses instead of being resolved instantly through automated or AI-powered guidance
How to spot it:
- High abandonment during checkout or on product pages
- Repeated support tickets with the same questions
- Low usage of help content or high bounce rate from it
Returning customers hit dead ends
Repeat visitors expect a smoother journey, but often feel like they’re starting from scratch.
Friction may look like:
- Loyalty points, coupons, and saved items aren’t visible or are buried in emails
- No easy reorder options for frequently bought products
- No recognition of their past shopping or engagement behavior
How to spot it:
- Low repeat purchase rate
- Drop-off on login or account pages
- High session length with no conversions from logged-in users
Support queues are backed up with repeat questions
High volumes of simple support tickets are a sign of friction elsewhere.
Friction may look like:
- Common questions aren’t answered early in the journey
- Customers can’t self-serve or find help content easily
- Agents waste time repeating themselves
How to spot it:
- Top ticket tags show repetitive issues
- High average resolution time on common questions
- Few support resources viewed before ticket creation
At-risk customers slowly drift away
It’s easy to miss signs of disengagement until the customer is gone.
Friction may look like:
- Drops in site visits, clicks, or purchases, which may go unnoticed
- No automated follow-up or reminders for content customers have engaged with
- No compelling reason to return
How to spot it:
- Decline in purchase frequency or customer LTV
- Decreasing open/click rates in promotional campaigns
- “Needs Attention” or “At Risk” segments growing in size
Now that we've seen where your customers may be struggling, let's learn how to fix it in the next lesson.
In the next lesson, you’ll learn how to create connected customer experiences that reduce friction, drive conversions, and strengthen loyalty at every step of the journey.