Marketing Funnel vs Impulse Shopping: Is the purchase journey still relevant?

The rise of performance marketing and shoppable ads is pushing brands, especially direct-to-consumer brands, into depending on social and e-commerce platforms for sales. It’s been a game-changer for brands focused on driving sales, especially the initial boost required to cut through the clutter in the market and make their presence noticed. However, according to advertising experts, such direct and quick conversions come with risks.

Advertisers seeking quick conversions with ads that nudge customers to ‘buy now’ might witness a ‘shrinking’ of the marketing funnel. It leads to more sales in a short time, but it’s not a sustainable practice, say industry observers.

Reliance on third-party platforms makes brands vulnerable to algorithm changes, platform fees, and shifts in user behavior, they say. Brands must balance these quick sales with larger branding initiatives while collecting first-party data with consent and building owned channels for communication across different phases of the customer’s purchase journey.

“Consumers scrutinise purchases more, consider more brands, and do their homework to feel sure they’re making the right decision. Meeting consumers in their decision-making moments is important to build trust,” says a Google spokesperson, adding that this is how brands can prove they are worthy of consumer consideration when they ultimately decide what to buy.

Sharing insights into how shoppable ads fit into the funnel, the spokesperson highlights that they reduce friction in the purchase journey and make it easier for consumers to discover more brands. For well-recognised brands, ‘buy now’ ads can instantaneously convert users who are already in the purchase mindset. However, for brands that are yet to reach that stage, a lot of groundwork needs to be done to establish differentiation and product features.

Awareness gets a brand on the radar. Consideration gets the brand into the running. Shopping ads make it easy for consumers to take action. “That said, this ‘compression’ that shoppable ads offer does blur the lines between funnel stages, making the customer journey more fluid and less predictable,” the Google spokesperson adds.

Further, a seamless purchasing environment presents unique challenges for brands, from maintaining customer loyalty to balancing impulse-driven and strategic marketing efforts.

Yaron Tomchin, CEO of Mobupps, explains, “While a more frictionless purchase journey can drive higher conversions, it also introduces new complexities for brands. The ease of instant transactions may lead to increased impulse purchases, which can, in turn, result in higher return rates and impact profitability.”

“When speed takes precedence, there is a risk that brand differentiation becomes secondary to price and convenience, making long-term loyalty tougher to cultivate,” he adds. Brands must also take into account their fulfillment processes, ensuring that they can meet consumer expectations for rapid delivery and seamless post-purchase support.

Success, Tomchin highlights, requires more than conversion optimisation but also strengthening the whole customer experience — from discovery to retention.

Another key challenge is to ensure that the buying journey remains personalised while being instantaneous, says Abhinay Tiwari, Chief Growth Officer at Admattic. “While the convenience of buying instantly is appealing to consumers, brands need to deliver personalised experiences that resonate with individual needs and preferences, he explains.

If the ads aren’t targeted properly or the product isn’t relevant, the immediate purchasing opportunity can quickly turn into a missed sale. Further, once a purchase is made, brands must ensure that the customer experience doesn’t end there.

Tiwari continues, “Quick shipping, efficient customer service, and post-purchase engagement are essential to maintaining customer satisfaction. Brands that fail to meet these expectations risk losing the loyalty of their customers. Instant purchasing requires a seamless experience from beginning to end, with high-quality post-purchase service.”

Brands must add personalisation to the frictionless experiences at every stage of the consumer journey to maximise sales and build lasting relationships.

Shoppable ads that drive impulsive shopping should not be used as a substitute for old-school marketing, remarks Sahil Arora, Ad Operations Lead, Blackcoffee.media. “It's more of an always-on, short-term solution that complements the traditional marketing stages by driving sales to keep your business going,” he explains, adding that they should be shoppable ads should be looked at as a ‘want’ and not a ‘need’.

Building brand awareness is key to a higher lifetime value of a customer. Arora emphasises, “A customer who finds your brand organically or through awareness-driven marketing is more likely to stick around than someone who clicked on an ad just because it showed up in their feed.”

If a purchase happens too fast, there’s little to no brand engagement — customers buy, move on, and forget. This makes it harder for brands to build loyalty or repeat business. Arora explains, “With such experience, brands miss out on storytelling, value-building, and long-term relationships. It also increases reliance on constant paid ads to drive sales rather than organic trust and word-of-mouth. A quick sale is great, but a lasting customer is better.”

The best approach is thus to leverage a mix of awareness to create interest and then add ‘buy now’ ads at the end of the journey to capture that intent and encourage sales.