According to the latest 2025 Digital Experience Benchmarks report from Contentsquare, businesses are investing more in attracting visitors yet struggle to turn that traffic into revenue. Analysing over 90 billion user sessions across 6,000 websites, the study found that brands increased their digital ad spend by 13.2% in 2024, yet conversion rates fell by 6.1% year over year. The cost of acquiring a visitor surged by 9% in just one year, marking a 19% increase over two years.
“In 2025, almost half of online visits will continue to suffer from preventable friction, which is, at best, cutting journeys short, and at worst, driving customers away entirely. Relying on paid channels to drive traffic without addressing the customer journey itself is a short-term fix. The true value lies in nurturing online experiences that are frictionless, engaging, and that keep customers coming back,” said Jean-Christophe Pitié, chief marketing and partnerships officer of Contentsquare.
What’s driving this decline?
A combination of shrinking organic traffic, heavier reliance on paid channels, and, most importantly, the failure to meet customers’ ever-growing expectations for seamless digital experiences. The report shows that 40% of all online visits in 2024 were affected by user frustration, leading to abandoned sessions and lost sales.
Slow-loading content is the biggest issue, which caused 53% of visitors to bounce after viewing just one page. With 73% of consumers citing poor digital experiences as a reason to avoid purchasing from a company, businesses that fail to optimize their online journeys risk losing customers to competitors offering smoother, more intuitive experiences.
Paid traffic without seamless UX
The study also found a growing dependence on paid channels, which comprised 39% of digital traffic in 2024, up from 37% the previous year. Paid social media played an especially prominent role, driving a 12% spike in traffic. However, this increase came with drawbacks: brands that leaned more heavily on paid social channels experienced higher bounce rates (+9.2%), fewer pages viewed per session (-8.7%), and a 10.6% drop in conversions.
What sets digital leaders apart?
While many brands struggle to balance traffic acquisition with user experience, a select group of “digitally disciplined” organisations proves that a data-driven approach can drive real results. These businesses continuously monitor and optimize their digital performance, achieving significant improvements in user satisfaction.
By focusing on reducing friction, they have successfully lowered load-time frustration by 22%, decreased rage clicks by 5%, and become 4.5 times more effective at eliminating digital roadblocks compared to their competitors.