From Pixels to Profit: Unpacking the ROI of Thoughtful UX Design  

Have you ever hesitated to invest in your website or app, seeing them just as informational tools rather than key parts of your business strategy? If so, it’s time to rethink the role of User Experience (UX) and the significant Return on Investment (ROI) it can provide.

Joanna Ngai, a UX designer at Microsoft, noted: “Design-driven companies have surpassed the S&P’s performance by a whopping 228% over the past 10 years. The bottom line is that: GOOD DESIGN = GOOD BUSINESS”.

What is UX ROI?

UX refers to how individuals interact with your product or services on your website or application, encompassing aspects like visual appeal, usability, and overall interaction.

The ROI of UX measures the financial benefits gained from improving these user interactions. Simply put, UX ROI evaluates if enhancing user experience translates into positive financial returns for your business.

Why Does UX ROI Matter for Businesses?

No matter the industry of your business, customer expectations are always rising, with each user seeking a personalized, tailored experience. User Experience (UX) is one of the fields that can turn these expectations into reality:

Despite its critical role, UX design often faces scrutiny in both startups and established companies due to the difficulty in measuring its value. Many businesses hesitate to invest in UX design because its benefits don’t happen in a flash, leading to a belief that it may not yield long-term rewards. Statistics show that 45% of businesses don’t conduct UX testing, and 40% of small companies lack even a basic website.

In fact, research by McKinsey and AIP highlights that excellent UX design significantly boosts user satisfaction, which fosters loyalty and ultimately drives business growth over time. Satisfied customers don’t just complete transactions; they leave positive reviews, refer friends, and return. A happy customer typically shares their positive experience with maybe 9 others, whereas a dissatisfied one might complain to 20.

Therefore, the ROI of UX design goes beyond short-term gains. Focusing on better user experiences and building strong customer loyalty is crucial for sustained revenue growth and long-term success.

The Cost of Neglecting UX Design

• 70% of users abandon their carts due to poor checkout designs (Baymard Institute).
• 53% of mobile site visits are abandoned if loading takes more than 3 seconds (Toptal).
• Mobile users are 5 times more likely to give up on a task if the site is not mobile-friendly (Toptal).
• 90% of users discontinue using an app because of poor performance (Toptal).
• 88% of online consumers are unlikely to revisit a website after a poor experience (Toptal).
• A negative brand experience on mobile makes customers 62% less likely to buy from that brand again (Toptal).

Aside from driving customer away, bad user experience also increases operational costs:

• Developers spend up to 50% of their time fixing issues that could have been avoided (Amazon AWS).
• Correcting a mistake after development can cost 100 times more than addressing it during the design phase (Amazon AWS).

The ROI of Investing in UX Design

Boost Sales & Revenue

Toptal research shows that users are more likely to keep shopping on a website with excellent UX. A well-designed website keeps visitors engaged, browsing longer, and ultimately driving more sales. Raffaela Rein, founder of CareerFoundry, highlights the impact of focusing on UX: “By prioritizing UX design, we achieved an 895% revenue increase within the first three months. Focusing on UX has fostered a loyal user base and a highly engaged internal team”.

Additionally, even simple adjustments in UX can lead to big gains. The Baymard Institute’s extensive study of over 100 top e-commerce sites, benchmarking 245 leading US and EU sites over 14 years, revealed in 2024 that enhancing checkout UX alone can improve conversion rates by 35%. 

Enhance Customer Retention

The most obvious financial benefit of good UX design is boosting customer satisfaction and retention. By refining the UX of your website, you’re not just creating a site or product; you’re shaping the entire customer journey from start to finish. Often, users navigate websites or apps in unique ways during their journey, and if certain elements are not ignored, it leads to more happy customers.

“Happy users are ultimately happy and returning customers”

Clive K. Lavery, senior UX person and co-organizer, UX Camp Europe.

Notably, retaining customers is a key way to increase revenue. Returning customers often spend 67% more than new ones. By enhancing your UX design to boost retention by just 5%, you could see at least a 25% increase in profits.

Stand Out in Competitive Markets

It takes only 2.6 seconds for users to form their first impression of your website. If they have a bad experience, they’re highly likely to choose your competition. This is why industry leaders like Amazon, Coca-Cola, Airbnb and others are spending billions on delivering unique user experiences. Whether you’re a startup, a small or medium-sized enterprise, or a global organization, good UX helps you stand out from the crowd.

Save Time and Money in the Long Term

“The value of UX is not wasting time and money developing the wrong solution”

Jeff Humble, lead UX designer, CareerFoundry

An underrated aspect of UX is its approach to understanding customer behaviors and expectations. This helps businesses better grasp user pain points and know where to invest time and resources, thereby reducing development iterations. According to Experience Dynamics, involving a UX designer can cut the time developers spend reworking a product by up to 50%. It also reduces overall development time by 33% to 50% through better decision-making and task prioritization.

By shortening development time, companies avoid ongoing maintenance costs related to constant design updates, leading to long-term savings.

Measuring UX ROI

Calculating ROI in UX design can be tricky. The challenge is not only in the calculation but also in choosing the right metrics that match the project’s goals and context. In most cases, the formula for calculating ROI in UX is:

ROI = Cost of Investment / (Gain from Investment − Cost of Investment)

“Gain from Investment” includes increased revenue, cost savings, improved customer retention, and other positive outcomes from a better user experience. The “Cost of Investment” covers expenses incurred in UX design, research, and implementation.

When to Improve UX Design?

The most obvious time to call in UX experts is when your UX ROI calculations aren’t looking good. However, it is highlighted that businesses often called in UX experts only when a product fails to meet expectations and is already struggling. Unfortunately, by then, it may be too late because the product has already lost its luster.

In fact, just 5 users are enough to identify 85% of your site’s issues. Rather than launching the entire website or app and waiting for user feedback, test with a smaller focus group first. Simply prepare some hypotheses, get five participants to represent your target group, and observe their interaction and behavior towards your site. This will save you from future risks of losing customers.