Competitor analysis in UX is about understanding how people actually behave, not how interfaces look. It helps uncover common patterns, unspoken expectations, and recurring friction points within a category. Where do users hesitate? What flows feel familiar? What steps feel unnecessarily hard? Without this context, teams often design in isolation and repeat the same mistakes already present in the market.

Companies like Amazon study checkout and browsing behaviour across retail competitors to learn what speeds people up and what slows them down, not just to benchmark visuals. At Suplex, we usually spend one to two weeks conducting UX-focused competitor analysis so decisions are grounded in behaviour, not assumptions. If you want to design experiences based on how users truly interact with your category, having a word with our experts at Suplex is a good place to start.

The right competitors aren’t always the most obvious ones. We look at a mix of direct competitors, indirect alternatives, and category-defining products that shape user expectations. The goal is to understand what users are already trained to do in your space, and which experiences feel familiar versus frustrating.

Companies like Airbnb study hotels, booking platforms, and travel apps together because all of them influence how travellers expect booking to work. At Suplex, we usually spend about a week shortlisting and validating competitors to ensure the analysis is actually useful. If you want to make sure you’re studying the competitors that truly matter, speaking with our experts at Suplex can help narrow that list.

We focus on elements that directly shape user behaviour. Navigation logic, search experience, product discovery, checkout flows, microcopy, and error handling all reveal how a product guides decisions and resolves any sort of friction. These details show what feels intuitive in a category and where users are likely getting stuck.

Platforms like Booking.com are studied closely because of how well they support decision-making through small UX patterns and prompts. At Suplex, we usually spend one to two weeks documenting these elements in detail so the insights are practical, not abstract. If you want to uncover UX patterns that are actually worth acting on, having a word with our experts at Suplex can help get you there.

Copying competitor layouts or features without context often backfires because your users, brand promise, and business model are different. What works for one product is shaped by its audience, trust level, and use case. When those conditions don’t match, borrowed patterns can feel confusing, forced, or misaligned, which quietly hurts conversions instead of improving them.

Snapchat struggled early on when experimenting with feed-style behaviours inspired by other platforms, because it conflicted with how users expected Snapchat to work. At Suplex, we usually spend about a week contextualising competitor insights so they’re adapted to your reality, not copied blindly. If you want to translate insights into the right solutions for your product, talking with our experts at Suplex can help set that direction.

Competitor analysis is most useful when it highlights what’s missing, what’s frustrating, and where users are being underserved. Instead of copying screens or features, we look for gaps in experience and moments where a simpler, clearer, or faster approach could exist. Those observations then shape UX principles, flow decisions, and priorities.

Netflix used competitor insights to simplify content discovery rather than replicate other interfaces, focusing on making choices easier instead of adding more UI. At Suplex, we typically spend one to two weeks translating insights into clear UX direction and practical design actions. If you want your analysis to result in meaningful improvements rather than surface-level changes, having a word with our experts at Suplex can help bridge that gap.