The Impact of Friction on Customer Value Experience in E-Commerce Design

Digital service design often focuses on seamless and frictionless customer journeys. However, recent studies argue that not all forms of friction negatively impact customer experience by providing evidence that some thoughtfully designed friction can increase consumer value. This thesis examines how different levels of experiential friction affect the customer value experience in e-commerce environments. Based on customer experience, cognitive reflectivity, emotional valence, and the value co-creation and co-destruction framework, this study investigates the effects of low, moderate, and high friction levels in an e-commerce setting. An experiment exposed participants to three simulated checkout journeys, which were later evaluated with a questionnaire that assessed their experience in terms of perceived effort, type of reflection, and emotional response. According to the experiment findings, low friction creates a smooth but shallow customer value experience. In comparison, moderate friction stimulates meaningful cognitive engagement without emotionally overwhelming users, supporting value co-creation. Finally, high friction leads to frustration and emotional decline in customers. This research contributes to the customer experience approach by providing empirical evidence for reflectivity as a mechanism linking friction and value experience. Friction is a deliberate design tool that enhances customer value experience rather than being entirely eliminated.