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Fix broken loops that hurt retention
Turning small product moments into buying momentum
Reduce friction in your checkout
Amazon owns Audible, so it's unsurprising that you can purchase an audiobook in a few clicks.
But, unlike Amazon, they're a few bad clicks.
UX is an art with thin margins. The difference between okay and epic can be a single line of context.
You're cooking with the same ingredients as everyone else, but yours just tastes better.
And unlike a subscription (a recurring purchase), you usually have to be proactive about designing and spinning a flywheel for repeat purchases.
I've designed and experimented on these set-ups with more than 100 different companies, on (at least) hundreds of millions of users.
Here are some techniques that have reliably worked for me.

A behind the scenes look at how I redesigned the Built for Mars sign-up flow, and iterated from early feedback.
The two "obvious" fixes that did nothing
Why you shouldn't always force an input
Why limiting the user's choices can be beneficial
Hinge built its reputation on a single promise: it's the dating app that wants you to leave. This is a breakdown of how the interface is actually engineered to make sure you don't.
How dating apps keep you engaged (not romantically)
The design equivalent of clickbait headlines
How Hinge leverages social scarcity
The challenge for a navigation app isn't to efficiently show you the best route, it's to make you believe that you've found the best route.
How strategy influences design
Waze is cornered, and slowly shrinking
What Apple's strategy appears to be

From rat mazes to coffee apps: why the motivation to reach a reward increases the closer your users get to their goal.
How to use the Goal Gradient Effect
Spinning the flywheel of purchases
Why your rules need to be clear
Sometimes, the best onboarding is no onboarding, and simple products get bogged down with unnecessary explanations. This case study on Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Asda demonstrates when to just let the user try it for themselves.
Sometimes the best onboarding, is no onboarding
“Show, don’t tell” often beats education
Data can’t always tell you when onboarding is wrong

An analysis of Monzo’s 1p challenge, focusing on the middle slump, where progress slows and motivation quietly fades.
Delight can replace progress, but only temporarily
"The middle" is the real retention problem
Motivation needs contextualised reference points
Fix broken loops that hurt retention
Turning small product moments into buying momentum
Reduce friction in your checkout
Amazon owns Audible, so it's unsurprising that you can purchase an audiobook in a few clicks.
But, unlike Amazon, they're a few bad clicks.
UX is an art with thin margins. The difference between okay and epic can be a single line of context.
You're cooking with the same ingredients as everyone else, but yours just tastes better.
And unlike a subscription (a recurring purchase), you usually have to be proactive about designing and spinning a flywheel for repeat purchases.
I've designed and experimented on these set-ups with more than 100 different companies, on (at least) hundreds of millions of users.
Here are some techniques that have reliably worked for me.

A behind the scenes look at how I redesigned the Built for Mars sign-up flow, and iterated from early feedback.
The two "obvious" fixes that did nothing
Why you shouldn't always force an input
Why limiting the user's choices can be beneficial
Hinge built its reputation on a single promise: it's the dating app that wants you to leave. This is a breakdown of how the interface is actually engineered to make sure you don't.
How dating apps keep you engaged (not romantically)
The design equivalent of clickbait headlines
How Hinge leverages social scarcity
The challenge for a navigation app isn't to efficiently show you the best route, it's to make you believe that you've found the best route.
How strategy influences design
Waze is cornered, and slowly shrinking
What Apple's strategy appears to be

From rat mazes to coffee apps: why the motivation to reach a reward increases the closer your users get to their goal.
How to use the Goal Gradient Effect
Spinning the flywheel of purchases
Why your rules need to be clear
Sometimes, the best onboarding is no onboarding, and simple products get bogged down with unnecessary explanations. This case study on Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Asda demonstrates when to just let the user try it for themselves.
Sometimes the best onboarding, is no onboarding
“Show, don’t tell” often beats education
Data can’t always tell you when onboarding is wrong

An analysis of Monzo’s 1p challenge, focusing on the middle slump, where progress slows and motivation quietly fades.
Delight can replace progress, but only temporarily
"The middle" is the real retention problem
Motivation needs contextualised reference points