Friction Reveals Truth
For ecommerce teams who’d rather learn from peak than survive it.
This is the second part of a six-part series around peak – and how ambitious ecommerce teams treat it. It’s built from the same advice I’ve been giving ecommerce leaders and executives about how to approach any kind of peak period: calmly, deliberately, and with intent.
Friction tells the truth.
In Week 2, we’ll unpack how to turn every bottleneck, delay, and complaint into next year’s roadmap – and why curiosity, not control, is the mark of a high-performing team.
Previously in ‘The Calm Advantage’ series
Week 1 – The Live Stress Test Begins.
When the system speaks, every business is different.
And while it’s tempting to jump straight into fixing or categorising every issue, hold that instinct for later in the series.
Right now, you’re building the habit of noticing. You’ll start to see patterns in what goes wrong – or nearly goes wrong – and that’s where the real signal hides.
There are hundreds of possible labels you could apply, but for now, keep it simple. Four is enough to begin:
- Design – the interface or experience failed the user.
- Process – the way work moves (or doesn’t) between people.
- System – the tech, integration, or data infrastructure behind the scenes.
- Leadership – the decisions, ownership, or communication clarity driving everything else.
You don’t need to catch every one. You just need to start noticing where your problems – and your opportunities – fit.
The five friction points
Across almost every ecommerce brand, the same five hotspots emerge:
- Checkout – where usability meets urgency.
- Fulfilment – where promises meet logistics.
- Communication – where clarity meets chaos.
- Confidence – where data meets decision-making.
- Clarity – where ownership meets urgency.
Retailers operating at a high level already know: perfection isn’t the goal; progress is. If you’re setting high standards, treat this moment as the pursuit of 10/10 – not proof the sky is falling. The gaps you find here aren’t failures; they’re opportunities to turn a good nine into a ten.
Finding these friction points, logging them, and turning them into a backlog is how you make that next small movement towards better. It’s not about erasing stress – it’s about strengthening what already works.
Notice and name
Observation becomes insight when you capture and label it.
For every friction point, ask:
- What happened?
- Why did it happen?
- Which type of gap does it reveal – design, process, system, or leadership?
Don’t rush to measure or fix – that comes later. For now, log what you see, name what it is, and keep curiosity high.
Example – the design & decision gap
A retailer notices during a mid-campaign review that promo banners weren’t converting. The instinct was to tweak the design – brighter colours, louder offers. Instead, the team asked why those creative decisions were made in the first place.
They realised campaign ideas were driven by gut feel and internal preference, not customer insight. So they built a bridge: a quick research loop connecting the design team to live behavioural data and customer feedback.
Next campaign, the creative direction wasn’t louder – it was smarter. Friction revealed a decision gap, not a design one. That’s how calm teams move from reaction to learning.
(We’ll come back to customer insight and behaviour in Week 3)
The C.A.L.M. framework
A clear rhythm for teams capturing friction during peak:
C – Capture: Log the friction point as it happens – what broke, who noticed, and where.
A – Analyse: Tag it as a design, process, system, or leadership gap.
L – Learn: Identify what you’d do differently next time – problem versus opportunity.
M – Measure: Quantify the impact – minutes, money, morale.
It’s practical, lightweight, and repeatable – the opposite of a crisis post-mortem. Use it throughout peak, and by the end you’ll have a living audit of improvement opportunities ready for January’s recovery plan.
Curiosity signals maturity
Friction triggers instinct. You can choose control – tighten, silence, react – or curiosity – ask, share, learn. Teams that stay curious grow faster. They build trust because they examine failure without blame.
The most mature teams don’t hide the rough edges; they map them.
That’s what separates calm from chaos.
Next week: Your Customers Are Teaching You
So far, we’ve looked inward – your systems, your processes, your people. Next week, we’ll look outward. Your customers are teaching you just as much as your dashboards are – and their behaviour during peak is the most honest feedback you’ll ever get.
JH – The Breakthrough Agency
Peak exposes the truth of your operation. For Magento and Adobe Commerce brands, JH acts as a calm strategic partner – translating that truth into clarity, efficiency, and the next breakthrough.