PlayAbly Podcast Episode 45: Why Most Ecommerce Website Redesigns Fail (and What Actually Grabs Customer Attention)

Ecommerce brands are spending tens of thousands on website redesigns—but are these sleek makeovers really worth it? In this episode of the PlayAbly Podcast, we dive into the science of attention and memory, and why beautiful websites without meaningful interaction are practically invisible to your customers.

You’ll learn:

• Why the average shopper spends just 4 minutes on your site but needs 9 focused seconds to consider a purchase
• How passive viewing fails, and what cognitive science says about creating memorable ecommerce experiences
• Why "window shopping" websites are dead, and how interactive elements like shoppable games and product configurators are the future
• How leading brands are using elaborative encoding (yes, like TikTok and Instagram!) to win customer mindshare and drive repeat visits

Ready to stop being forgettable? Discover how tools like PlayAbly and Shopify gamification can turn your static store into an interactive, memorable experience that aligns with how the human brain actually works.

🧠 Explore how ecommerce gamification, CRM marketing, and VIP programs can transform your customer journey—because in today’s attention economy, only the truly engaging survive.

Want help with Q1 planning? Explore ecommerce quizzes and customer loyalty programs that actually drive retention.

Want to see what PlayAbly can do for you? From cool custom games to PlayAbly Gamified Rebates, we (probably) have a solution for your ecommerce shop woes. Book a meeting with the great and powerful John here.

Transcript

Welcome back to the PlayAbly podcast and today we're talking about websites. We know so many ecommerce companies that have paid between 10K and 50K to have their website "redone" by a professional and not a single time has it been worth it or finished on time. I get it, websites are the gateway that a potential customer learns about your brand so it's important but is what you think is important and what is actually important lining up? Let's get into it. 

Here's a mind-bending statistic: the average online shopper spends just 4 minutes on an ecommerce site, but needs 9 full seconds of focused attention to even consider making a purchase. That gap is costing retailers billions.

Well that certainly explains why I can browse dozens of sites and remember almost none of them. What's actually happening in our brains during those 4 minutes?

You know, it's fascinating – cognitive science shows that our attention isn't just passive viewing. It's more like a bouncer at an exclusive club, constantly deciding what information gets in and what gets ignored.

Hmm... so even if I'm looking at a beautiful website, my brain might just be saying "nope, not worth remembering"?

Exactly right – and here's where it gets really interesting. The research shows that just having a visually stunning site isn't enough anymore. Our brains are actually wired to remember things we interact with, not just things we look at.

That reminds me of how I can instantly remember that one site where I designed my own jacket, but completely forget ten other stores I visited yesterday.

Well that's EXACTLY what the science predicts! There's something called the picture superiority effect – images are more memorable than text, but only when they demand some kind of meaningful interaction or feel personally relevant.

So all these brands investing millions in professional product photography might be missing the point?

Um, yeah – it's like they're throwing a party with amazing decorations but no activities. The data shows that without meaningful engagement, even the most beautiful sites become essentially invisible to our memory systems.

You know what's interesting about that? I've noticed how social media platforms seem so much better at holding our attention.

That's because platforms like Instagram and TikTok are built on what cognitive scientists call "elaborative encoding" – every swipe, like, and comment helps cement that content in your memory. Traditional ecommerce sites are still stuck in the passive viewing model.

Well that explains why traditional optimization techniques like changing button colors aren't cutting it anymore.

Right — those surface-level tweaks are hitting diminishing returns because they don't address how our brains actually process and retain information. It's like trying to fix a memory problem with makeup.

So what are the innovative brands doing to break through this attention crisis?

The most successful ones are completely rethinking engagement. They're implementing interactive product configurators, AR try-ons, and social-like features that make shopping more of a two-way conversation than a window-shopping experience.

That's fascinating – so it's not just about keeping people on the site longer, it's about making that time actually matter to their brains.

Exactly. And here's the kicker – in today's attention economy, we're not just competing for people's time anymore. We're competing for their cognitive bandwidth in an environment where that bandwidth is increasingly scarce.

Like, every scroll and click is competing with entertainment, messaging, and social media...

And the numbers are pretty stark – brands need at least 9 seconds of focused attention to improve purchase intent, but most sites are lucky to get even a fraction of that genuine engagement.

So what happens to the brands that don't adapt to this new reality?

Well, the consequences are already showing up in the data. If users don't interact meaningfully with your site, they won't remember it. If they don't remember it, they won't return. And in today's crowded digital marketplace, being forgettable is essentially being invisible.

That really changes how we should think about the future of online shopping, doesn't it?

You know, it fundamentally transforms our understanding of what makes an effective ecommerce experience. The winners in this new attention economy won't just be the ones with the prettiest sites – they'll be the ones who understand that attention isn't just another metric to optimize, it's the foundation of all customer behavior.

Sounds like we're entering a new era of digital Darwinism.

That's exactly right – and only the truly engaging experiences will survive. The brands that understand this aren't just designing for the eyes anymore – they're designing for the way our brains actually work.

That's it for the PlayAbly podcast - happy holidays everyone and I hope you're finishing with a very strong Q4.