Why the pre-purchase experience is where the real sale happens
Where is the sale actually won?
Most ecommerce brands think it happens at the end of the journey: checkout, payments, abandoned carts. But by the time a customer gets there, the decision is already made.
The brands generating real word of mouth aren’t the ones with the slickest checkout. They’re the ones that made the journey to checkout feel like something. Something personal. Something memorable. Something worth telling a friend about.
That’s exactly what Maheer Shah, founder of Dr. Grillz, has built. What looks like friction (consultations, fittings, wait times) has become his biggest marketing advantage.
Alongside Maheer, insights from Michael Tutek at Preezie, Simon Beard at Culture Kings, and Pete Ceredig-Evans at Try With Mirra reveal how leading operators are turning the pre-purchase experience into their most powerful growth channel.
Create Talkable Moments
Maheer Shah doesn’t try to remove friction from the buying journey: He designs it.
His product takes weeks to make and requires a physical fitting, something most ecommerce operators would try to eliminate. Instead, Maheer leans into it.
Every consultation builds anticipation. Every fitting becomes content. And the final reveal, that is the moment the grillz go in, becomes the transformation customers want to share.
This is where the real marketing happens.
Customers don’t just leave with jewellery. They leave with a story. And those stories travel far further than any paid campaign ever could.
Make Effort Visible
Michael Tutek, co-founder of Preezie, discovered something counterintuitive: speed doesn’t always build trust.
When their product recommendation tool delivered answers instantly, customers didn’t believe the results. It felt too easy. Too automated. Too shallow.
So they introduced “perceived effort”, a short delay that shows the system working through inputs before delivering recommendations.
Engagement increased. Conversions increased. Trust increased.
The lesson is simple.
If customers don’t feel heard, they won’t trust the outcome.
Make the effort visible, and they’ll believe in what you deliver.
Turn Buying Into A Win
Simon Beard built Culture Kings on a principle most ecommerce brands avoid.
Make it harder to buy.
For major drops, products are hidden behind exclusive access, secret codes or gated entry. The result isn’t frustration, it’s excitement.
Customers don’t say “I bought something.” They say, “I got it.” And that shift matters. Because the purchase becomes a story, and stories spread.
Scarcity, access and the chase turn the path to purchase into entertainment, and entertainment is inherently shareable.
Bring The Experience Home
Pete Ceredig-Evans tackled one of ecommerce’s biggest challenges: buying something you can’t touch.
Instead of improving product pages, he flipped the model entirely.
With Try With Mirra, customers receive products at home before they’re charged. They try everything on, keep what they want and return the rest.
But the real impact comes from pairing that experience with a human touch: a concierge or stylist guiding the decision.
Now the transaction becomes a service. And customers talk about services that feel personal.
Maheer Shah turned a consultation into a content engine. Michael Tutek showed that slowing down can build trust. Simon Beard proved that making customers work for access makes them value it more. Pete Ceredig-Evans recreated the fitting room and added human connection.
The thread is clear.
Word of mouth doesn’t start at checkout.
It starts earlier: the moment a customer feels something.
Design that moment well, and the marketing takes care of itself.
In this Playbook:
- How Dr. Grillz turns customer fittings into content and word-of-mouth moments
- Why pre-purchase experience matters more than checkout optimisation
- How “positive friction” can actually increase trust and conversions
- Why making it harder to buy can turn purchases into stories customers share
- How brands recreate in-store experiences to drive confidence and conversion
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