Defining the Buying Experience A buying experience encompasses the complete journey of your customer from discovery to checkout. This includes but isn’t limited to: 01 02 03 04 Browsing your product Adding items to their Entering payment Engaging postsale catalog and taking shopping cart and options at checkout with product inspiration from your reaching out to and final delivery of recommendations recommendations. customer support the purchased product. and alerts. with questions about inventory or shipping. By understanding the different stages of the But why address points of friction at all? buying experience, it’s easier to mitigate points Simple: Businesses that aren’t focused on eliminating friction of friction using the tactics outlined below. from discovery to purchase and beyond risk harming their bottom line. According to recent research, there’s a projected $260 billion opportunity cost for e-commerce businesses in the US¹ alone. While we’re still early days in scoping the impact of friction in other industries like telecommunications, travel, banking and beyond, it’s fair to say that it makes sense for businesses to prioritize seamless experiences at every stage of the buyer journey through a variety of tactics, starting with friction identification activities to constructing a conversational approach to accelerating key elements of the buyer experience.To get started, here are a few steps you need to understand the friction your customers are experiencing. ¹ “44 Cart Abandonment Rate Statistics,” Baymard Institute, December 2020 2