Research consistently shows that for every £1 invested in UX, businesses can expect up to £100 in return. An exceptional ROI of up to 9,900%.
Products, services, and internal tools with poor usability struggle to gain adoption, increase support costs, slow productivity, and introduce operational risk.
By contrast, organisations that invest in user-centred design benefit from faster adoption, reduced risk, and stronger financial performance — both externally with customers and internally with employees.
The evidence.
Independent studies back this up. Forrester Research found that every pound invested in UX delivers returns of up to 100 times the initial spend.
A finding echoed by Maze and widely referenced across design and business communities.
Key findings include:
- Forrester reports up to 9,900% ROI from UX investment.
- Even small usability improvements can drive millions in additional revenue.
- 88% of users are less likely to return after a poor experience, directly impacting adoption and retention.
- Internal tools with improved UX lead to significant time savings and reduced operational friction.
Why UX matters.
Efficiency and cost savings.
Products and processes designed with usability in mind reduce training time, lower error rates, and cut support costs.
For internal teams, this means fewer bottlenecks, smoother workflow transitions, and faster onboarding.
Especially in complex or fast-moving environments.
Higher adoption and satisfaction.
Whether you’re designing a customer-facing product or an internal system, intuitive design accelerates adoption.
Clear, empathetic interfaces reduce frustration, improve confidence, and make it easier for people to complete tasks accurately and efficiently.
Externally, this increases customer loyalty. Internally, it boosts productivity and job satisfaction.
Operational and organisational impact.
Good UX doesn’t just improve individual screens, it improves entire systems.
When processes flow better, organisations experience:
- Lower operational costs
- Fewer errors and less rework
- Better data quality
- Stronger scalability and resilience
For teams managing complex workflows, from finance and logistics to HR, sales, and customer support, UX becomes a direct driver of operational performance.
Real-world examples.
A famous e-commerce example shows how small UX optimisations can create enormous value: removing mandatory account registration at checkout generated $300 million in additional revenue in one year.
Across other industries, similar impacts are common:
- Redesigning internal dashboards has reduced support queries by more than 50%.
- Streamlined workflows have cut task completion times by 30–60%.
- Making forms more intuitive has dramatically improved data accuracy and reduced compliance risks.
These examples highlight a simple truth: even small usability improvements deliver outsized financial and operational gains.
Measuring the ROI of UX.
The impact of UX can be quantified through metrics such as:
- Increased conversion and reduced abandonment
- Lower training and support costs
- Higher customer loyalty and improved NPS
- Faster internal workflows and reduced task friction
- Fewer errors and compliance issues
- Greater employee satisfaction and retention
Together, these create a measurable and often dramatic improvement to both the bottom line and performance.
Conclusion.
UX is not just a design layer, it’s a business strategy.
Across every sector, investing in user experience reduces risk, accelerates adoption, streamlines operations, and supports sustainable growth.
With credible research showing returns of up to 9,900%, the case is clear: Investing in UX is one of the most reliable ways to unlock value — for customers, employees, and the organisation as a whole.
If you’d like to explore how BBxD can reduce risk and accelerate adoption for your product or internal systems, we’d love to talk.
