Why Dull is Dying

-Dull- is dying

Quick refresher: across digital, there is a rise of grazing. Specifically, in ecommerce, shoppers are making more visits, but by the key measures (page views, scroll rate, time on site), those visits are shallower.

And, unsurprisingly, the same holds for how we’re consuming ads.

Viewability (for static and video ads) is up 2% YoY and 9% Yo3Y. Modestly, to be fair.

But… time in view is down for both periods, -2% and -12%. Again, modestly, though the 3 year change starts to border on behavioral shift.

Often, this is chalked up to a falling attention span, which typically serves as a fair explanation.

Yet, as ecommerce conversion rates plummet and traffic barely grows, beware of dismissing this attention decline.

What we're seeing - imho - is that ordinary has come due.

There is a cost of being unremarkable - and, without quoting directly from Godin - those mired in mediocrity are struggling.

Ordinary, however, doesn’t simply mean the product offering. The power of brand adds the prefix extra to that word quite easily (see Heinz, Coca-cola, and other terrific brands that remain entrenched as market leaders).

A quick look in the black mirror reveals that it’s the journey that is far too often ordinary. Have you seen your mobile site lately? It likely looks a LOT like that one. And that other one.

In short, too many are wasting the short time they have with shoppers by being dull. Dull stories and dull experiences don’t cut through the minutia.

At a time when grazing is peaking, you are fighting the battle against ordinary. Your remit needs to include collecting attention, first. Sharp cuts, dull dies.