Researchers suggest that the average attention span has plummeted over the past two decades, from about 2.5 minutes to just 47 seconds in 2012. How can marketers capture attention when they’re losing people in less time than it takes to properly wash your hands?
It turns out that there’s an overlooked community that can teach us a lot about what it takes to cut through in our distracted world.
Almost 14% of Americans report having ADHD. This is a consumer segment with enormous economic power representing trillions in net worth, yet it remains dramatically under-researched in marketing. While major marketing research overflows with studies on much smaller groups like luxury shoppers, plant-based eaters, and crypto users, ADHD and neurodiversity are almost invisible in that research. It’s no wonder we found only 20% of ADHD consumers feel that brands fully understand and serve their needs.
The industry largely ignores one of the most fundamental variables shaping behavior: how people’s brains actually work. ADHD reshapes executive function, decision-making, and the dopamine reward system—including how we respond to novelty, urgency, and immediate gratification. In other words, the very psychological pillars on which marketing is based.
That’s why BBH USA collaborated with Understood.org to study how ADHD consumers navigate the marketplace. Through in-home ethnographies, national survey data, interviews with neurodiversity experts, and input from the neurodivergent community, we learned that designing for the ADHD brain may be a secret weapon in the war for consumer attention.
THE “STRESS TEST” EFFECT
One of the most critical insights from our research reveals a completely different way to consider the ADHD consumer. It finds that designing for ADHD should not be considered a niche optimization, but a best practice for everyone. After all, ADHD consumers are, in many ways, the most discerning audience: quick to identify friction, unwilling to tolerate unnecessary complexity, and highly responsive to experiences that genuinely work. This makes them a powerful barometer for quality.
In the words of Andrew Kahn, PhD, Understood.org’s associate director of expertise and behavioral health innovation and a licensed psychologist: “What you design well for ADHD will do well for other consumers within your larger audience. Do something well, do it intentionally. Do it with respect for the neurology, needs, and wants of your audience, and you will have more reach and success.”
For instance, cognitive load—most keenly felt by those with ADHD—is actually a hidden conversion killer for everyone. If a journey is confusing, friction-heavy, or overly cognitively demanding, people with ADHD are likely to abandon it without hesitation. They are 50% more likely than neurotypical people to abandon their cart while shopping “all the time.” The primary reason for leaving a brand’s website is that it’s hard to navigate. In the words of one study participant, “If a website triggers me, I’ll just leave. I want to quickly navigate from A to B…this stuff affects me more than it does most people.”
This makes people with ADHD the ultimate stress test for modern experiences. In an ecosystem defined by infinite choice and constant distraction, cognitive overload is becoming a universal barrier. Clearer pathways, fewer steps, and intuitive navigation don’t just help a subset of users, they improve performance across the board.
DESIGN FOR ADHD TO WIN WITH EVERYBODY
The outtake is simple. For an industry that prides itself on understanding behavior, continuing to overlook ADHD is a strategic misstep. Optimizing for ADHD does not mean creating a separate experience for a niche audience; it means removing unnecessary friction in ways that benefit everyone. The talent is already there to make it happen; about half (48%) of the creative industry identifies as neurodivergent. So there is a real opportunity to embrace the “for us, by us” philosophy: Allow neurodivergent minds to create and shape products and experiences for the neurodivergent community.
The few brands that are starting to pay attention are succeeding. Dating app Hinge conducted research in 2024 about their ADHD users, exploring common challenges that they face using the app. Daters with ADHD were 31% more likely than neurotypical daters to report that they don’t like making small talk. With that insight, Hinge experimented with various tools to help daters bypass small talk and spark more meaningful conversations, improving experience for neurotypical people as well as those with ADHD.
The opportunity is not just to “include” ADHD consumers. It is to learn from them. Because in a world of increasing complexity, the brands that succeed will make things feel easier, clearer, and more human.
Nathan Friedman is co-president and chief marketing officer at Understood.org. Jessica Garlick is strategy director at BBH USA.