Stickiness

Stickiness generally refers to the tendency of a substance to adhere to a surface or to other materials, and more broadly to the ability of a product, service, or experience to keep attention or usage over time. In physical contexts, stickiness involves adhesion and tack. Adhesion is the attraction between dissimilar materials, often mediated by surface energy, chemical bonding, or mechanical interlocking. Cohesion is the internal attraction within a material. Tack describes the initial, temporary stickiness of an adhesive before full curing. Stickiness is influenced by surface cleanliness, roughness, temperature, humidity, and the compatibility of the materials involved. Common measures include peel strength, shear strength, and tack tests.

In digital, marketing, and product contexts, stickiness denotes user engagement and retention. It is often proxied by metrics such as dwell time, session length, pages per session, return visits, and retention or cohort activation. High stickiness implies that users find sustained value, while low stickiness suggests friction or lack of interest. Measurement relies on analytics, experiments, and benchmarks; interpretations can be highly context dependent.

Improving physical stickiness involves surface preparation, choosing appropriate adhesives, and controlling curing conditions. For digital products, strategies include delivering clear value, reducing friction, fast load times, intuitive design, personalization, and social or intrinsic rewards. While stickiness is a useful shorthand, it is not a universal metric and should be interpreted alongside other indicators of quality, usability, and outcomes.