Too much stimulation and labile attention, brands and customers in the age of laziness

"Kindness is a powerful and never-before-seen weapon." Words of Superman, one of the longest-lived superheroes, born in 1933 and the archetype of someone who faces evil with extraordinary abilities. In a world marked by chaos, this symbol of resilience returns to the big screen and in brand campaigns. In view of the premiere on July 11, the American insurance giant Progressive, sixty-second place in the Fortune 500 and revenues of more than 22 billion dollars in the first quarter of the year, has decided to don the Superman costume to demonstrate its commitment to guaranteeing the safety of services, speed of response, accuracy in solutions. The goal is to simplify the customer's life by making it simpler. So superpowers are used against a connected, bored, intolerant customer. One of the app's functions detects serious accidents, intervenes to ensure their health, sends help and even initiates a compensation request. An (almost) superhuman speed.

Welcome to the emerging economy of laziness that rewrites consumption and campaigns. We are less and less inclined to take action to intercept products, services, messages. Laziness, thanks to high-performance and personalized technologies, becomes the main competitor in the battle for the attention of an unstable consumer, but also the most valuable ally in encouraging new propensities to purchase. McKinsey highlights how simplicity, speed and intuitiveness are increasingly required in the digital experience, confirming the advance of frictionless models, a concept coined by Kevin Roose in the New York Times. The tendency to simplify the impact of technology means that we experience a bulimia of digital purchases, often without realizing it. It is the advance of invisible brands for the American technologist William Ammerman. Meanwhile, PwC's Consumer Markets Trends 2025 report reports that 67% of consumer leaders are banking on artificial intelligence to enhance the shopping experience, reduce friction, and meet the growing demand for automation and fluidity in interactions. 36% of companies say they are already adopting generative AI in many areas. Generation Z is reshaping expectations, considering their personal data as a currency for hyper-personalized experiences and frictionless shopping: however, there is a balance with privacy, marked as a priority by 48% of the sample. "The digital consumer seeks maximum convenience with minimum effort. The habit of "everything now" has made every friction an unbearable obstacle. Value is increasingly measured in terms of time saved and ease of use," says Giulio Finzi, retail leader for Intarget and professor of e-commerce at the Catholic University of Milan. The risks for those who are connected and distracted are also increasing. "The frictionless experience reduces the attention threshold and increases the risk of impulse purchases, scams or unknowingly sharing sensitive data. Users must be vigilant about the transparency of processes, the identity of sellers and the use of their personal data, especially the less digital groups," says Finzi.

It is the time of agents in the AI ​​that become coaches within reach of smartphones, personal assistants in infinite scrolling to foster new needs. Amazon, Google and Shopify are among the most advanced players in the use of agents for recommendations, assistance and personalization. Zalando has developed a conversational assistant, Sephora an Ai beauty coach that recommends, learns and personalizes. «The future belongs to those who integrate Ai not only in processes, but in the purchasing experience. Companies must rethink the customer journey in a predictive and automated way. Ai agents – real personal shoppers – simplify choices, shifting purchasing power from users to interfaces. For companies, this means redefining conversion strategies and being ready for BtoMachine marketing, that is, aimed at influencing an Ai and not a human», concludes Finzi. Agents transform brands into presences that are not only active, but proactive. McKinsey estimates that by 2030, over 60% of interactions will be mediated by autonomous agents. "In America, the adoption of agents in consumption is growing, while in Europe a more exploratory approach still dominates. Young people prefer personalized flows, seniors prefer simplified assistance. But minimum effort is the transversal rule, more than age. After all, we are in cognitive overload: too many stimuli, little time, fragmented attention. Laziness is not a lack of will, but an adaptive response. Winning means eliminating friction, anticipating needs and reducing decision-making thought to a minimum. Comfort wins over comparison. AI becomes the comfortable interface of our tiredness", says Fabio Lalli, author of "Spatial Shift" for Egea. Excess comfort reduces the critical threshold: we accept cookies, contracts, conditions without thinking or reading what is written. The risks? "Privacy, manipulation, dependence on opaque recommendations, subscription renewals without awareness, the famous dark patterns. The issue is cultural: training situational intelligence in a world where everything seems already decided for us is central", says Lalli. Meanwhile, the ways of using it are changing, going beyond touch. It is a spatial interaction that is moving “out-of-screen”: it is the mixed reality market made of smart lenses, tech hand gestures and synthetic voices. «Mixed reality eliminates traditional active interaction: no clicking, no swiping. Information arrives in space, contextual and augmented. You look, you talk, you get. Apple Vision Pro, Meta Quest and all the visors and glasses that are starting to come out, or solutions like Brilliant Labs, integrate gestures and voice in immersive experiences. The interface becomes invisible and behavior more passive and guided. We must remain vigilant because the increase in reality boredom is around the corner», concludes Lalli.