How Burton convinced me NOT to buy a snowboard with just 9 words 🏂

#marketing

Tl;dr

• Using notifications to let customers know about upcoming events can be a powerful way to create awareness of campaigns. However, if not executed correctly, they can backfire and lead to lost sales.
• Marketing orchestration is an underrated part of the job. When done right, it’s invisible. But here’s what happens when it’s not…

[Aside: this was originally going to be a short post about this one little banner, but then it turned into a rollercoaster ride of errors, bad requested, something about a wish list and a looooong list of things that went wrong).

I’ve been looking to replace my snowboard for some time now. I wanted something a little faster, a little more fun, and just… new.

After hours of research, reading reviews, and endless comparisons, I settled on the Burton Process Camber. I was ready to buy!

Since I’ve had good experiences buying directly from Burton before, I preferred to purchase from them again.

Things Fall Apart

On Wednesday March 5th, I logged onto the Burton site, credit card in hand, and was greeted by a bright pink banner.

“Sale starts March 6—save up to 40%.”

Wait… what? I can save money if I don’t buy it now?

Remember - I was ready to buy: research done, credit card in hand. My motivation and intention were at their peak. But this banner changed everything. If I bought the board immediately, I would be losing the 40% discount. That single moment triggered loss aversion, and just like that—my motivation vanished.

The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwarz

The Risk of Delayed Sales

A customer like me might leave the site intending to return later. But there’s an equally strong chance I’d forget or buy elsewhere. Deferring the sale this way is a risky move by Burton, though some brands successfully use anticipation tactics to drive urgency. However, in this case, the execution seemed to create confusion rather than build excitement.

The next day…

I remembered the sale and decided to go back to the site. Instead of heading directly to Burton’s website, I searched for the board on Google.

That’s when things got worse.

First - the top search results weren’t from Burton. When I finally found a Burton.com link, it led to a page where the board wasn’t even in stock.

[I get it - SEO is hard and you can’t guarantee the the top spot - but the campaign they were pushing was relying on me actively coming back to the site. And for a lot of people, including me in this case, that means going to Google.]

As it turns out, the product page that is ranking for this search term is for the 2023 version of the board, which Burton no longer keeps in stock (even though it says it’s on sale!)

A few extra things happened at this point

• My previously very high intention and motivation evaporated even further. Seeing the discounted 2023 model made me wonder: Do I really need the 2024 version? Should I hunt for the older board instead?! Seeing the old board at the reduced price put me back in research and comparison mode!
• I left the burton site and started googling the older board to see if I could find a better deal.

This whole situation suggests a disconnect between Burton’s marketing, SEO, and website teams.

Back on the search results page, I clicked on another Burton link, hoping for better luck. But instead, I found myself on yet another page where no discount was applied.

The Banner’s Fatal Flaws

By this point, I had waited an entire day—only to find that the promotion wasn’t even available on all product pages.

Had I delayed my purchase for no reason?

This kind of marketing misstep is costly. If a sale banner is shown site-wide, it must apply to every relevant product. Otherwise, it leads to confusion, frustration, and lost sales.

I should clarify that at this point I was still actually trying to buy this board! They told me to come back on March 6, I did the thing! And yet I can’t buy the board…

It was only by clicking on the sale banner, and then using the search banner for Men > Snowboards that I was able to get to the sale version of the board.

Okay, there’s a lot to unpack here, but fist — back to the banner.

How This Could Have Been Done Better

1. Only show the banner when the sale is live. Customers buying today wouldn’t know about it, ensuring the sale goes through.
2. Give customers an action to take. Instead of telling me to come back later, why not ask me to register or sign up to get early access? This would keep me engaged and ensure I return.
3. Ensure the banner applies to all relevant products. If some products aren’t included in the sale, they shouldn’t display the banner.
4. Improve marketing coordination. Misalignment between teams leads to customer confusion. A more coordinated approach could have prevented this mess.

The Psychological Impact of Poor Execution

Burton’s mistake wasn’t just technical—it was psychological. The marketing team failed to account for loss aversionand underestimated the effort customers put into researching high-ticket items.
Once a customer reaches a high-intent state, any friction—whether a confusing discount, a broken link, or an out-of-stock product—can derail the sale completely. For a premium product priced at several hundred euros, this is a dangerous mistake.

Final Thoughts

I’m not without sympathy for Burton. I’ve been on the other side of marketing mishaps before. But this was a preventable failure.

The reality? I still haven’t bought the board.

For other companies, this serves as a reminder of how critical marketing coordination is. A poorly executed campaign can confuse customers and derail high-intent purchases. Ensuring clear communication between teams, aligning promotions across platforms, and reducing unnecessary friction can make all the difference between securing a sale and losing one.

Better luck next time, Burton. I hope you didn’t shred too many sales.

Lester

Update: It got worse. When I later visited the page which was displayed in the search results, I was greeted with a rather inelegant ‘400 Bad Request’ error page.

Clicking the second result was just as bad (maybe worse because it has more unintelligible stuff on it).

Some more things happened at this point:

• I was questioning whether the Burton site was broken
• Even knowing that there is probably some internal marketing tech going on behind the scenes, I STILL wondered about the safety and security of the site. Some base level, primal thing was making me nervous

I’m sure there are a whole host of things going on at Burton - stuff like staging environments, deployment processes, go live procedures, agency coordination and other internal things.

Like I said - I’ve been there and personally messed up in ways that are worse than what’s happening here (but not much worse tbh; this be bad).

And I STILL haven’t bought this board…

📚Some References and Further Reading about the behavioural marketing topics in this piece

1. Robert Cialdini, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

“A well-known principle of human behavior says that when we do someone a favor, we expect something in return. Businesses can use this to their advantage by providing small incentives upfront to increase the likelihood of customer commitment.”

🏂 This supports the idea that Burton could have used an immediate incentive (such as early access for registered users) instead of a delayed discount, which led to lost momentum in the purchase journey.

2. Uri Gneezy, Mixed Signals: How Incentives Really Work

“Facts are dry: ‘$450 discount if you buy the car today.’ But context and framing determine how people perceive incentives. Losses weigh heavier than gains, and the wrong framing can turn a deal into a deterrent.”

🏂 This reinforces the point about Loss Aversion—Burton’s banner inadvertently framed the purchase as a loss today, rather than a gain tomorrow.

3. Sheena Iyengar, The Art of Choosing

“When we speak of choice, what we mean is the ability to act on our desires without barriers. The moment complexity is introduced, the desire to choose decreases.”

🏂 This aligns with the discussion on decision fatigue and friction—Burton’s poor website experience and scattered product pages made the buying process unnecessarily complicated, reducing the likelihood of conversion.

Disclaimer: some items on this post contain affiliate links and I may earn a commission if you buy. There is not change to the price for you

Update: I bought the board! I wonder if that means I need to change this post now 🤔