Shopping without buying: what can the “dopamine sites” hype teach us about retail?

Millions of consumers fill their shopping carts, check out, and track their orders—without ever buying anything. So-called “dopamine sites” strip the transaction out of e-commerce, leaving only the shopping ritual. For retailers, the hype reveals just how much value is already being created before the “checkout” button is clicked.

Invisible ice cream

Anyone who orders a curry or an ice cream on FoodNeverComes will remain hungry forever. Or will they? The customer selects dishes, checks out, and then tracks a delivery person on the map. Eventually, that delivery person even calls. But here’s the thing: the food doesn’t exist, and the customer pays nothing.