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If distribution is the ultimate moat, friction is the silent killer.
The newest Friction Report from Cleverbridge exhibits how hidden gaps in checkout, funds, and renewals are draining income.
Earlier than you say, “checkout cost? That’s for D2C,” maintain studying.
Ecommerce and digital gross sales motions have exploded throughout B2B SaaS. PLG and “Purchase Now” choices on an organization’s website are the clearest use circumstances, however corporations are more and more weaving ecommerce checkouts into growth and renewal flows additionally. Actually, 98% of software program distributors now promote their merchandise on-line, with greater than half producing the vast majority of their income by means of ecommerce.
As we speak, consumers count on seamless on-line buy experiences. However sellers aren’t maintaining tempo. Friction exhibits up in pricing readability, cost strategies, localization, and renewals. International ambition is excessive, however execution gaps are draining development. For SaaS founders and operators, decreasing this “friction tax” is a GTM crucial.
Given how a lot is at stake, we did a deep dive on the report. It uncovers the place offers collapse, why churn is rising, and what high-growth sellers do in another way.
Listed below are the 5 issues from the report you have to know.
1. International growth is surging. However, most corporations aren’t prepared.
Of these surveyed, 60% of software program corporations promote in fewer than 10 international locations, regardless of trillions in GDP accessible outdoors the highest 10 markets. Solely 4% promote in additional than 100 international locations, displaying simply how a lot white house stays untapped.
On the similar time, the ambition to go world has by no means been larger. 83% of software program sellers say worldwide growth is a high precedence within the subsequent 12 months. However ambition alone received’t get them there: solely 56% really feel assured they will scale efficiently. The boldness hole is actual and dear.
So the place are sellers stumbling? Execution. The report exhibits that integrations, compliance, and localization are the largest obstacles. Cross-border tax guidelines differ nation by nation. Fee preferences shift dramatically by area – Pix and OXXO in LATAM, Alipay and WeChat Pay in APAC, PayPal outranking playing cards in components of Europe. But fewer than half of sellers persistently localize checkout to fulfill these purchaser expectations.
For consumers, these particulars matter. 96% say native forex show is essential, and 43% received’t buy if checkout isn’t of their language. It doesn’t matter how sturdy your product is, if the transaction feels overseas, consumers will merely transfer on to a competitor who makes it really feel seamless.
International growth is about execution. If worldwide development is in your roadmap, bake these parts into your stack early.
2. Sellers are fixing for the unsuitable purchaser issues.
Sellers assume they know what consumers need, however the information exhibits they’re fixing for the unsuitable issues. Greater than half of sellers imagine consumers care most a few quick, easy checkout and robust safety. Consumers, nevertheless, put clear pricing and phrases on the very high: 53% rank it because the primary issue, forward of each velocity and safety.
The results are pricey. Surprising taxes and costs drive 48% of purchaser cart abandonments, whereas 41% stroll away when belief alerts are lacking. Sellers, in the meantime, fixate on “too many checkout steps,” which is a friction level consumers rank far decrease. The result’s wasted optimization effort on the unsuitable drawback set, whereas hidden charges and unclear renewal phrases maintain leaking income.
This misalignment doesn’t cease at checkout. Publish-purchase, 48% of consumers say clear billing and renewal info is essential, however many sellers proceed to overestimate their efficiency on this space. Confidence is excessive on the vendor aspect, however the purchaser expertise tells one other story.
Transparency beats polish. Present the complete value upfront (taxes, charges, renewals included) and make it easy to pay in the way in which consumers count on. Clear up for readability and belief, and also you’ll convert consumers your rivals are shedding.
3. Cart abandonment is bleeding income.
Cart abandonment isn’t only a shopper drawback, it’s one of many greatest hidden leaks in SaaS gross sales. Practically half of sellers admit they lose at the least 1 / 4 of potential orders in the course of the buy course of. Solely 16% report abandonment beneath 10%. For a SaaS firm doing $10M in annual on-line income, a median 27% cart abandonment charge interprets into $3M+ misplaced yearly. This “friction tax” solely scales with development.
The info additionally exhibits how fragile the acquisition second is. A couple of-third of consumers will stroll away utterly if their most well-liked cost technique isn’t supplied. Others depart the second they see shock prices at checkout, undermining months of promoting and gross sales work in seconds.
Sadly, the issue is usually undiagnosed. Laggards check checkout flows solely yearly or “as wanted,” in comparison with high-confidence sellers that check month-to-month. Frequent testing helps catch hidden friction early and retains conversion charges climbing.
Deal with cart abandonment as a income leak, not a UX afterthought. Run month-to-month buy stream checks, get rid of hidden charges, show sturdy belief alerts, and develop cost choices. Each single share level recovered goes straight to the highest line.
4. Publish-purchase friction is killing retention.
All the pieces is tough work, each pre and put up gross sales. The Friction Report exhibits that income leaks persist after the preliminary sale. This aligns with what we see from the enterprise lens.
Whereas 91% of sellers say they’re assured of their post-purchase expertise, almost 8 in 10 consumers report frustrations – from complicated renewal phrases to issue canceling to gradual buyer help.
The hole is large. Consumers count on billing readability, easy subscription administration, and quick help. As a substitute, 36% say they’ve struggled to cancel, 31% couldn’t attain help, and 29% had been confused about renewal or pricing. These touchpoints don’t simply frustrate prospects, they straight drive churn and undermine belief, particularly in B2B contracts the place retention determines lifetime worth.
A lot of this churn is preventable. Failed funds, expired playing cards, and billing errors proceed to quietly drain income. But fewer than half of sellers use instruments like automated retries, card updaters, or routing optimization to get better that income at scale. Even voluntary churn usually traces again to solvable points: poor help, lack of transparency, or perceived worth drop-off.
Renewals and help are core go-to-market levers. Simply as you optimize top-of-funnel conversion, you have to obsess over post-sale expertise. Corporations that do that nicely construct loyalty, cut back churn, and create a compounding development engine.
Deal with renewals and help as extensions of your GTM movement. Automate cost retries and card updates, make billing and renewals clear, and empower buyer success groups to intervene earlier than consumers encounter friction. Decreasing post-purchase ache is among the most dependable methods to guard (and develop) recurring income.
5. Fragmented tech stacks are slowing development.
Behind the client expertise is one other supply of friction: the interior tech stack. Many software program corporations try to scale world income on cobbled-together methods. What seems to be useful on paper shortly turns into a large number of guide workarounds, brittle integrations, and siloed information. The end result: slower development for the corporate and extra friction for the shopper.
The info makes the hole clear. Sellers with absolutely built-in ecommerce stacks are over 2x extra assured of their skill to scale globally in comparison with these working fragmented methods (81% vs. 34%). These built-in groups can launch in new markets quicker, localize checkout extra simply, and unify information throughout the shopper lifecycle. Fragmented stacks, however, depart groups slowed down in troubleshooting fairly than innovating.
The fee isn’t simply technical debt, it’s alternative value. Each hour your engineers spend debugging tax logic or reconciling funds is an hour not spent delivery product. Smaller SaaS corporations usually attempt to “DIY” ecommerce to save cash early, however the friction compounds as they scale into new markets. By the point they hit development inflection factors, patchwork infrastructure has grow to be a drag on growth.
Leaders more and more depend on a Service provider of File (MoR) or related built-in platforms to streamline world funds, tax compliance, fraud administration, and recurring billing. This shift frees product and engineering groups to deal with constructing fairly than firefighting, whereas giving finance and GTM groups a transparent, dependable spine for scaling.
Make investments early in built-in infrastructure that may scale with you. The payoff is quicker market entry, cleaner operations, and a buyer expertise that feels seamless in each area.
The chance
Inside the issue lies the chance. Corporations that spend money on eradicating friction construct compounding benefits: larger conversion charges, stronger buyer belief, and decrease churn. Over time, these enhancements add as much as a development engine that’s more durable for rivals to copy than any single characteristic. Notably now with tech moats dissolving on the hand of AI, decreasing the friction generally is a big go-to-market differentiator.
Tag @GTMnow so we are able to see your takeaways and assist amplify them.
Extra to your eyeballs
ICONIQ’s State of Software program 2025 report exhibits how AI is reshaping B2B SaaS. AI-native corporations are hitting $100M ARR with below 150 individuals, doubling deal sizes YoY, and flipping GTM orgs with extra post-sales roles than gross sales.
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