Why Not Take 5% of Your Paid Media and IT Budget and Invest It in E-commerce Design?
When you look at the e-commerce budget of a DTC or fashion brand, two things tend to dominate: paid media and IT. Both are essential. You need a robust tech stack to keep the site running, and you need traffic to make it all worthwhile. The logic seems airtight—until you realise what’s missing. There’s rarely an equivalent budget line for e-commerce design—not just content, but design as a strategic growth driver.
Many brands launch their sites with a beautiful new design, only to let it stagnate for three to five years until the next major overhaul. Meanwhile, paid media spend continues to scale, and IT investments keep rising rapidly. But why is design treated as a one-off event while the rest of the e-commerce machine runs in an always-on cycle?
If your paid media is always on, and your IT is always on, then why is your design effort a once-in-a-while initiative? There’s an underlying assumption that design is a fixed asset, something that gets done once and then left to run on autopilot. But in reality, design—when treated as a continuous, iterative process—has the potential to create compound value in ways that paid media and IT investments cannot.
We believe this needs to change.
• Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) should be always on.
• E-commerce Art Direction should be always on.
• E-commerce Design should be always on.
• Content Optimisation should be always on.
A brand that continually optimises its digital storefront will outperform a brand that treats e-commerce design as an afterthought.
The Case for E-commerce Design as an Always-On Investment
What happens when you continuously invest in design? Here’s the potential impact:
• Higher conversion rates – Small, incremental design changes can drive measurable improvements in checkout completion, product discovery, and add-to-cart rates.
• Higher average order value (AOV) – Thoughtful UX, bundling strategies, and visual merchandising drive customers to spend more per session.
• Stronger brand identity and stickiness – Design isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about how your brand feels. A well-designed experience creates emotional engagement and keeps customers coming back.
• More direct and referral traffic – Great design, interactivity, and seamless user experiences increase organic word-of-mouth and social shares.
• Enhanced product discovery – Design shapes how customers navigate and explore your catalogue, influencing what they find and how they perceive value.
• Improved retention and loyalty – Retention isn’t just about discounts or loyalty points. The best brands create habitual engagement through an experience that customers actively want to revisit.
• Stronger price perception and reduced reliance on discounts – Want to reduce markdown dependency? Design plays a critical role in value perception—premium experiences justify premium pricing.
Why 5% of Paid Media & IT Spend Could Outperform Its Original Use
Imagine reallocating just 5% of your paid media and IT budget to e-commerce design. Would that money generate more incremental revenue if spent on refining the customer experience rather than pushing more traffic into an unoptimised funnel?
The answer is almost certainly yes. Paid media is inherently volatile—platforms change, costs rise, effectiveness fluctuates. A stronger e-commerce experience compounds over time, lifting every customer interaction and making each visitor more valuable.
A brand that continually optimises its digital storefront will outperform a brand that treats e-commerce design as an afterthought.
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The Shift from Transactional to Relational E-commerce
This is the real crux of the argument. Many brands operate on a transactional e-commerce model—spend money to acquire traffic, convert as much of it as possible, rinse and repeat.
But the best brands build relationships.
• They create experiences that customers want to return to, they reward browsing.
• They use design to create habit-forming interactions, not just one-time purchases.
• They enhance perceived value so that they’re not trapped in a cycle of discount-driven sales.
E-commerce Design Is the Most Underutilised Growth Lever
Most brands would never accept a 5-year gap between marketing campaigns or tech updates. Yet many brands redesign their e-commerce experience only when it’s absolutely necessary, instead of constantly improving and evolving it.
The reality is that e-commerce success isn’t just about having the best products or the largest media budget. It’s about creating an experience that keeps people coming back, spending more, and engaging more deeply with your brand.
Design is not a one-time cost. It’s an always-on growth engine.