Beyond 'Good UX': What Really Sets Top Brands Apart Online?

Forbes

31-07-2025

Gabriel Shaoolian is the CEO & Founder of Digital Silk, an award-winning agency for brand strategy, custom sites, and data-driven marketing.
Having a good user experience (UX) is essential for brands that want to succeed. Businesses know that poor UX is expensive, 'with 88% of online consumers less likely to return to a site after a bad experience,' according to Google. This awareness has raised the bar for UX standards across industries. But with everyone boasting fast load times, clean design and mobile responsiveness, where do you go from there?
The answer lies in how UX aligns with bigger business goals, such as increasing customer lifetime value (CLV), building brand trust and driving scalable growth. A study by McKinsey found that companies leading in UX and design outperform industry peers by nearly double in revenue growth. UX has moved beyond just being user-friendly; it's about standing out and being different.
Good UX Is Table Stakes
People expect a clean interface and responsive design. According to PwC, 73% of consumers see customer experience as a major deciding factor when they shop, and 32% say 'they will walk away from a brand they love after just one bad experience.' Today's users expect smooth, intuitive interactions, and they won't hesitate to walk away when those expectations aren't met.
Users rarely notice when UX is good, but they instantly notice when something's wrong. Whether it's a slow-loading page, a confusing menu or clunky forms, any hiccup can lead to lost customers. And when everyone meets the standard, simply matching it isn't enough anymore.
Top Brands Create Emotional Resonance
Besides performing well, today's standout brands also evoke strong emotions in users. According to Forrester's 2024 Customer Experience Index, companies that truly focus on their customers and design with emotional impact in mind experience 51% higher retention and 41% faster revenue growth than their competitors.
Think of Apple, Nike and Airbnb. They truly connect with us because they infuse emotional experiences into their designs. Thoughtful animations, rich storytelling and those little interactions we don't always notice can actually create a bond between us and the brand.
Consider other familiar examples: Duolingo's playful tone encourages daily engagement. Spotify's 'Wrapped' campaign builds brand advocacy through storytelling. These are more than just great design solutions. These are excellent business strategies.
Emotion builds a genuine affinity that practical functionality alone can't achieve. For example, a checkout process can be straightforward and efficient, which is good. But when it's intuitive, it becomes memorable. That's the impression that stays with you and makes you want to come back.
Personalization Is the New Frontier
Good UX won't cut it anymore: 91% of consumers tend to favor brands that offer relevant suggestions, and 80% of loyal shoppers opt to buy exclusively from brands that tailor their experience.
Personalization is about anticipating user needs, guiding their discovery process and removing friction before they even ask. Companies like Netflix, Amazon and Spotify set the gold standard for real-time, tailored content, and users now expect the same from everyone.
Adobe's 2025 'Personalization at Scale' report indicates that companies that excel in customer experiences are twice as likely to utilize AI and machine learning to provide personalized interactions.
When done well, personalization serves as a powerful growth driver. If done poorly or not at all, it can lead to disengagement and customer churn.
Scalable UX Builds Long-Term Advantage
UX isn't a one-time project but part of your brand that needs to grow alongside your products and users. This is where scalability becomes essential.
Scalable UX is about building the foundation for consistent, effective growth. Design systems, component libraries and accessibility frameworks help teams iterate quickly without having to start from scratch each time. Instead of reinventing design for every project, you integrate consistency into your framework, freeing up energy for innovation.
Companies that prioritize scalable UX early on are better equipped to launch updates quickly, maintain brand integrity as they grow and adapt their experiences to changing user expectations without starting from scratch each time.
What Sets You Apart Isn't UX; It's What UX Enables
When every brand offers 'good UX,' differentiation comes from what your experience enables. Does it move users to trust you? Convert faster? Come back more often? Top brands design both the experiences and the outcomes.
If you want to build a UX that stands out, start asking what it achieves for your business and for your customer. That's where the real advantage lies.
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