Friction as a Feature

𝑰𝒏 𝑻𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚'𝒔 𝑾𝒂𝒗𝒆:

📱 The friction economy evolution
🔍 How intentional inconvenience is reshaping products
💸 Why constraints are becoming a premium feature
🔮 What this means for builders and customer relationships

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕

Friction is becoming a feature, not a bug.

I'm coining a new term – FaaF. It sounds like a new Pokémon you haven't caught yet, but now: FaaF means Friction as a Feature.

After a decade of products competing to remove every obstacle between users and consumption, we're witnessing the emergence of intentional friction as a product strategy. Companies across categories are deliberately adding steps, delays, and constraints - and customers are paying a premium for it.

This isn't just digital minimalism or a rejection of convenience. It's a sophisticated reframing of friction as a mechanism for creating value rather than destroying it.

𝑬𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝑺𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒔

Apps introducing deliberate pauses: Lapse, which secured $30M in Series A funding in February 2024, delays photo sharing by 24 hours.

Subscription cancellations becoming effortless: Netflix has seen retention increase after introducing easier cancellation processes. When subscribers feel less "trapped," they paradoxically become more likely to stay. This suggests trust can function as a retention mechanism more powerful than forced continuity.

Intentional constraints in productivity tools: Notion's AI writing assistant limits users to three daily uses in its free tier - not primarily to drive conversions, but because (per CEO Ivan Zhao) "constraints lead to more deliberate, thoughtful prompts."

Banking security reframed as user benefits: Major banks are now marketing authentication friction as premium protection. Two-factor authentication, which used to be seen as annoying, is being promoted as "enhanced security you control." Research shows customers prefer these visible friction points versus invisible background processes.

𝑸𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝑻𝒊𝒑𝒔

How you can apply this shift:

1. 🗺️ Audit your customer journey for meaningful friction opportunities. Map your entire customer experience and identify decision points where a strategic pause might increase trust or satisfaction. The most valuable moments are often where commitment increases - subscription sign-ups, package upgrades, or major purchases. Replace bad friction with smart friction.

2. 💎 Position necessary constraints as premium features. When you need to limit something (API calls, support tickets, production runs), don't apologize - market it. Reframe these constraints as quality assurances that benefit the customer. The art is making users feel protected rather than restricted. Your constraints should always answer "why is this better for me?" not just "why can't I have more?"

3. 🔐 Test visible vs. invisible security measures. If you're implementing trust-building measures, make some of them visible to users rather than handling everything in the background. Banking isn't the only industry where customers prefer to see the locks on the door. Experiment with showing users how you're protecting them, not just telling them they're protected.

𝑵𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝑾𝒂𝒗𝒆

Thank you for reading! See you next week, same time, same place.

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Stay wavey,

Haley