The Storefront Is Dead

Most customers don’t browse anymore—they arrive with intent. They already know what they want. And if your digital storefront gets in the way, you lose the sale.

The storefront, as we used to design it, is dead.

Not because ecommerce is dying. It’s because exploration is. Most consumers don’t want to be sold an experience—they want to confirm what they already decided elsewhere. Social, search, DMs, creator links—that’s where the actual “shopping” happens now.

If you're still over-investing in homepage design, mega-menus, or layered navigation trees, you're probably optimizing for a behavior that’s fading.

What matters now is frictionless execution:

• Fast load times
• Predictable layouts
• Zero decision fatigue
• One-tap checkout

And ironically, that shift flattens the experience. Everyone’s site starts to feel the same, because sameness is efficient. If you’re playing the storefront game, you’re already losing to Amazon, Target, or TikTok Shop.

So where should you differentiate?

Upstream. Off-site. At the edge.
Not on the site—before the site.

Your brand, content, media drops, partnerships, athlete features, how you show up in someone’s scroll—that’s where trust is built. By the time they land on your product page, it should feel like a confirmation, not a discovery.

What I’m seeing from clients now isn’t a cry for better UX. It’s a call for lower total cost of ownership. Platform-first. Minimal customization. Fast build, faster change.

So if you're still trying to win with “brand storytelling” on your homepage... you're probably doing it too late.

The storefront isn’t where you win anymore. It’s just where you fulfill.