$846 billion blind spot

mediocre digital experience is your quietest (and most costly) competitor.

Hey, Paige here!

It’s Fridayyyy 🎉 Before we get into today’s best marketing research… 

In today’s release: 

  • The real value of the digital experience (and where marketing fits into the system)

  • What causes 88% of visitors to never ever return

  • Drive 9,900% return with this focus

New here? Join 8,100+ marketing pros and see us in your inbox every Friday—

SPONSOR HIGHLIGHT

If you’re investing thousands into events, it’s time to maximize your ROI with professional video capture and production. One event = months of scroll-stopping content. 

Share your message beyond the conference center with:
Interviews | Main Stage | Social Clips | Event Sizzles

DEEP DIVE

Digital experience isn’t a feature. It is the product.

And for marketing leaders, it's one of the most critical revenue levers.

1 in 3 digital experiences is actively failing customers. And when experience is subpar (or worse), only 9% of customers send feedback… the rest just leave. 

In a market where growth is hard-won and loyalty is fragile, poor UX can quietly become your most expensive blind spot.

Customers don’t complain — They disappear

Across industries, the financial hit of a bad customer journey UX is unmistakable:

  • 53% of U.S. consumers reduce or cut spending after just one bad experience

  • Global sales at risk due to poor experience: $3.7 trillion

  • In the U.S. alone: $846 billion annually

  • This sales lost risk is expected to hit $1.4 trillion in the US

If you're not proactively tracking experience signals across key digital journeys, you're bleeding revenue you can’t see — and possibly attributing the losses to the wrong KPIs.

UX isn’t a design conversation. It’s a growth requirement. 

Let’s get crystal clear here:

This isn’t about whether your app/website/socials looks nice, that’s just a bonus.

It’s about how many deals you’re losing in silence.

  • 70% cart abandonment rate with $260B in preventable UX-driven drop-off

  • 67% of customers churn after poor experience with SaaS platforms or support

  • 88% won’t return to a website after one bad experience

  • Even a 3-second delay in page load can kill conversion by 40%

These issues might look like usability issues. But they’re more than that. They’re revenue leaks.

The economics of great UX: ROI CMOs can’t ignore

When you get UX right (from the first stage of your funnel all the way through) the payoff is massive. 

  • 400% boost in conversions with frictionless UI

  • 9,900% ROI on UX investment

  • 84% of CX leaders report revenue gains after improving digital journeys (and 95% reported higher loyalty)

  • Best-in-class CX leaders are growing 3x faster than competitors

When marketing leads digital transformation, brand equity and pipeline follow. When it doesn’t, customers notice… and your CAC rises as retention erodes.

What marketing leaders can do about it now

Here’s your strategic playbook:

1. Audit for hidden attrition

Are your churn rates above industry benchmarks? Are trial-to-paid conversions flatlining? Don’t assume product-market fit is the issue — it might be the onboarding UX, mobile performance, or unresolved micro-frictions.

2. Partner cross-functionally

Growth is not a silo. Alignment between product, CX, sales and marketing is key for building the dream team. Your team may own the brand, but if the product flow doesn’t match the promise, trust breaks instantly.

3. Build the business case

If your CFO needs a reason to greenlight CX investment, show them this:

Every $1 in UX investment returns $100. UX isn’t cost, it’s capital allocation.

4. Elevate UX from design to strategy

Make UX and digital performance part of your core GTM strategy. Include experience metrics in QBRs. Prioritize user feedback loops. Champion usability as fiercely as you do brand narrative. Because today, they’re one and the same.

The Takeaway: Poor digital experience is a business risk. Don’t underestimate the silent churn. And don’t leave UX to product alone. 

That’s it, ya’ll! Here’s how we can help…

Binge our podcast about the future of media in business.
Download the 2025 State of Video Podcasts Report.
Book a video podcast strategy call with Ben from our team.

Keep creating,

Paige Peterson
Newsletter Aficionado, Sweet Fish