Ever wondered why the products you love just seem to defy all the ‘best practice’ smarts that you try and instill in your teams? Sad truth is, real growth doesn’t always mean a good experience! And it often hides a whole bunch of broken stuff beneath – be it bugs, poor UX, deceptive patterns, the lot.
If market forces are so strong and product/market fit doesn’t need a great experience to retain users then should we be looking elsewhere in allocating resource to product development? Should we instead focus on desire levers or market testing before embarking on a superlative UX (let alone design!)
eBay is a great example – even though there are a bunch of studies out there (Example: https://medium.com/%40tharana057/ebay-case-study-and-redesign-76432ea41e04) that point to hugely inconsistent UI, UX it doesn’t take long to become incredibly frustrated by the sheer mess of eBay’s many products (within products!).
Revisiting the site of late (after they buckled to shifting fees onto sellers) I found the experience poor. Signposting was confusing, understanding the journey as a seller was even more convoluted than ever and little has been done over the years to improve the design and satisfaction of using the ecosystem. Perhaps there’s just too much going on for eBay to have a cohesive journey for all users and edge cases.
But then I look at how PayPal have vastly improved their products over the years. To the point now where their beautiful redesign (https://www.pentagram.com/work/paypal) courtesy of legendary agency Pentagram, is the icing on the quite well formed cake (from a UX POV). Good UX to me means that you move through your product experience like slicing butter. It’s when things just feel intuitive. PayPal’s way of verification when you have to launch the app works well and is quick (other similar patterns often have to be reinitiated), the sub-products such as PayPal Credit are deeply integrated into the overarching ecosystem. The whole thing just WORKS.
Having audited Duolingo recently (Super strong PMF, 88M MAUs!, $400M revenue in 2023!) I found that whilst I’m starting to learn a few phrases in Spanish the entire experience is a big mess of continual pop ups trying to sell me crap, a points system I’ve no idea what is what and a strange learning path that has been criticised by loyal fans.
There are so many examples! ZOOM is another one (I can’t even be bothered to discuss TEAMS it is just so bad). You’d think that with so much growth ZOOM would be able to get data back from customers in bunches. But you’d be forgiven for thinking that none of the feedback has been used. Settings remain tricky to navigate, joining as a guest convoluted and managing accounts a complete pain in the ass.
So should we as product leaders, designers or strategists just ignore all the wonderful heuristics we used to preach or have rammed down our throats?
PMF might not last forever. Sure, the market can allow product companies to survive for years or even decades with a moat but one day someone will come along and steal that thunder. One of my favourite examples recently is the rise of Vinted at the expense of Depop (https://www.varsity.co.uk/fashion/28550) – If you’re familiar with both you might have shared my own experience. Depop held great promise but Vinted ended up nailing the UX. Their use of AI and ML to serve up value fast means that selling, buying and just USING their app is extremely fast and delivers value quickly. The seamless integration of Inpost and just being so good at fulfilment means that Vinted becomes addictive to use. Selling or buying recycled cheaper clothes has never been faster, easier and enjoyable. So don’t think that your super PMF king of the hill product can always remain a clusterfuck of an experience without being knocked off it’s perch!
Why it matters
These examples taught me that PMF can mask UX problems for a long time — especially when the product solves a high-value need. But when new competitors arrive, or user expectations rise, that UX debt becomes expensive.
Three practical tips for product teams
1. PMF is not permission to ignore UX
If your product is growing, now’s the time to improve clarity, trust, and ease — not later.
2. Study frustration, not just funnels
Look at where people write complaints — app store reviews, Reddit, community threads. Frustration often reveals design opportunities that data won’t.
3. Talk to long-time users who’ve stopped using you
Not churned outright — just drifted. They’ll usually say, “I liked it, but…” and that “but” is gold.