The funnel is dead. Welcome to the Now Economy, where discovery, decision, and action happen in seconds, not stages, believes Bill Dennett, Regional Team Lead, Uber Advertising

For years, marketing was built around the funnel. Awareness. Consideration. Conversion. A neat, step- by-step journey that brands could plan around. But the reality is, the funnel has collapsed.

Today, we live in the Now Economy, where discovery, evaluation, and action happen almost

simultaneously. Decisions that used to take days now take minutes. Sometimes seconds.

The Death of the Choreographed Journey

Food delivery is a good illustration of this. Three out of four delivery orders are placed within an hour of deciding to eat. Uber Eats users typically weigh up around eleven restaurants before choosing. That's not mindless scrolling. That's active, fast decision-making happening in a very compressed window.

Delivery apps are now the second most influential factor in restaurant decision-making, behind only the restaurant's own menu.

And it's not just food. It's a broader shift in how people approach needs.

Consumers don't start with brands the way they used to. They start with a problem: I need dinner. I need a ride. I need this delivered today. And they solve it inside platforms they already trust, environments built for speed and convenience, not brand storytelling.

Platforms have become the place where choices get made. That's a significant shift for anyone thinking about how brands actually grow.The old funnel assumed that brands controlled the message and that the media carried it outward.

That's largely gone. Consumers now control the pace, the path, and often the platform. The gap

between seeing something and doing something about it has shrunk dramatically.

Which means the media can't afford to sit far upstream from the action anymore. It has to show up closer to where intent actually forms.

The “Now Economy” Mindset

We describe this through the "Now Economy". This is a mindset, not a demographic. These are people who prioritise convenience and immediacy in everyday life. They're 88% more likely to use on-demand professional services, 85% more likely to use on-demand home services, and 97% more likely to use telehealth than internet gen pop (based on Uber research). They'll pay a premium when a service genuinely saves them time or effort.

The behaviour isn't impulsive. It's a deliberate trade: money for time, simplicity, mental bandwidth. This mindset is why platforms have moved from being mere tools to becoming the primary gateway for discovery. People aren't starting with a brand in mind; they're starting with the platform they trust to solve the problem quickly.

From Habitual Loyalty to “Curious Loyalty”

If consumers are platform-first, does brand building still matter? Yes, but loyalty has changed shape. We describe it as "Curious Loyalty." Consumers are loyal to brands that consistently deliver, but they're also open to exploring alternatives. They'll compare, experiment, and come back to what works. In fast decision environments, loyalty is less about habit and more about consistent performance in the moments that matter. The brands that hold their own in that environment tend to share a few things: they're easy to choose, they show up reliably, and they actually deliver on their promise.

Real-world authenticity

Trust is a real factor, too. At a time when much online information feels unreliable or gamed, trusted platforms carry a different kind of credibility. On Uber, every user is logged in and transacting in the real world. Bots don't hail rides or order lunch. That authenticity matters when brands appear in those spaces.

Designing for the Now Economy means accepting some uncomfortable truths. Consumers want choice, not a carefully choreographed journey. They'll take shortcuts. They'll optimise for convenience. And they'll use whatever makes life easier, regardless of what the brand intended.

The Now Economy isn't just about speed. It's about decision velocity - being present at the moment that choice forms.

When the media meets people in those moments, it stops being an interruption. It becomes action - aligning directly with the intent driving the consumer’s decision, helping brands convert intent into engagement and, ultimately, growth.