The Frictionless Experience Former Lowe's VP Reveals the Million $ Mistakes Killing Your Website Conversion with Mike Shady
Sep 29, 2025
52:11
One of our most popular episodes ever was our very first episode with Mike Shady, so we're bringing it back in celebration of our two-year anniversary to make sure everyone has a chance to hear this timeless gold from Mike - because every step up the customer loyalty ladder builds trust, but one misstep can send you crashing to the ground.
Join hosts Chuck Moxley and Nick Paladino as they revisit their debut episode featuring Mike Shady, former Senior VP of Online at Lowe's and 15-year Home Depot veteran. Now Chief Digital Officer at Staples, Mike shares hard-earned wisdom about creating frictionless experiences when digital and physical worlds collide.
From appliance delivery disasters to JavaScript crashes that break add-to-cart buttons, this episode reveals why being your own customer is essential for identifying friction.
Key Actionable Takeaways:
https://www.thefrictionlessexperience.com/frictionless/
Download the Black Friday/Cyber Monday eBook: http://bluetriangle.com/ebookMike
Shady's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-shady/
Nick Paladino's LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/npaladino
Chuck Moxley's LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/chuck-moxley
Chapters:
(00:00) Introduction
(03:00) Mike's background at Lowe's, Home Depot, and customer-first mentality(
06:00) Defining site aesthetics and the importance of functionality
(09:00) Being your own customer - The power of shopping your own site
(12:00) The customer loyalty ladder analogy - Higher climbs mean harder falls
(15:00) Creating separate experiences for pros vs DIY customers
(17:00) Measuring impact when all five friction forces are changing
(20:00) Real-world example - When releases look great but break checkout
(24:00) Success story - Finding and fixing friction that was hiding products
(26:00) What companies get wrong - Thinking they know best without testing
(28:00) The importance of using customer terminology, not vendor jargon
(32:00) Visual search solutions and vocabulary challenges
(36:00) JavaScript crash example and site reliability engineering
(38:00) Proactive friction identification and conversion funnel improvements
(41:00) Common misconceptions about knowing what customers want
(43:00) Vendor terminology vs customer language challenges
(46:00) Final thoughts on customer focus and being ready for problems
(48:00) Conclusion
Join hosts Chuck Moxley and Nick Paladino as they revisit their debut episode featuring Mike Shady, former Senior VP of Online at Lowe's and 15-year Home Depot veteran. Now Chief Digital Officer at Staples, Mike shares hard-earned wisdom about creating frictionless experiences when digital and physical worlds collide.
From appliance delivery disasters to JavaScript crashes that break add-to-cart buttons, this episode reveals why being your own customer is essential for identifying friction.
Key Actionable Takeaways:
- Be your own customer and shop your own site regularly - The easiest way to identify friction is to experience your customer journey firsthand, from purchase through delivery
- Create different digital experiences for different customer segments - Pros shop completely differently than DIY customers and need tailored functionality like reorder capabilities and bulk purchasing tools
- Build systems to catch problems before they impact customers - Thousands of things can go wrong with major e-commerce sites, so proactive monitoring and quick recovery capabilities are essential
https://www.thefrictionlessexperience.com/frictionless/
Download the Black Friday/Cyber Monday eBook: http://bluetriangle.com/ebookMike
Shady's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-shady/
Nick Paladino's LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/npaladino
Chuck Moxley's LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/chuck-moxley
Chapters:
(00:00) Introduction
(03:00) Mike's background at Lowe's, Home Depot, and customer-first mentality(
06:00) Defining site aesthetics and the importance of functionality
(09:00) Being your own customer - The power of shopping your own site
(12:00) The customer loyalty ladder analogy - Higher climbs mean harder falls
(15:00) Creating separate experiences for pros vs DIY customers
(17:00) Measuring impact when all five friction forces are changing
(20:00) Real-world example - When releases look great but break checkout
(24:00) Success story - Finding and fixing friction that was hiding products
(26:00) What companies get wrong - Thinking they know best without testing
(28:00) The importance of using customer terminology, not vendor jargon
(32:00) Visual search solutions and vocabulary challenges
(36:00) JavaScript crash example and site reliability engineering
(38:00) Proactive friction identification and conversion funnel improvements
(41:00) Common misconceptions about knowing what customers want
(43:00) Vendor terminology vs customer language challenges
(46:00) Final thoughts on customer focus and being ready for problems
(48:00) Conclusion