Chapter 1

Retail secret one: low friction and high reward

The unwritten primary law of retailing, a kind of customer covenant, is that we must make it easy for people to spend money with us. So simple, so often ignored.

In this chapter we explore

  • purchase friction
  • customer reward in the widest context
  • friction/reward indexing.

Maths to describe life

In recent years, I have come to believe that it is completely possible to apply mathematics to every single retail format, shopping visit, contact point, needs state and interaction. To every product, in every context.

If you’ve read my work before, this revelation is probably a startling one. I talk a lot about instinct, common sense and practical awareness, and that’s all still true. But ...

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