How to resist trendy feature bloat and fix what actually matters.

Every App Apparently Needs Chat Now

You’re sitting in yet another stakeholder meeting when someone drops it: “What if we added a chat feature? Users love to connect!” Your heart sinks. The till system still crashes during peak hours, inventory forecasting is about as accurate as a weather forecast, and somehow chat has made it to the top of the wishlist.

Sound familiar? You’re not alone. The tech world is caught in what Reddit users are describing a “chatification” trap – the belief that every app must inevitably evolve to include messaging, social features, or community elements. It’s like a digital version of carcinisation, where everything eventually becomes a crab, except in our case, everything becomes a social platform.

But here’s the rub: whilst you’re debating whether customers really need to message each other about their favourite pastries, your core product is quietly falling apart.

When Your Kitchen’s on Fire, Don’t Polish the Menu

Picture this: you’re running a busy bakery during the morning rush. The ovens are temperamental, the till keeps jamming, and you’re out of your bestselling scones. But instead of fixing these critical issues, someone suggests you spend the day redesigning the menu boards to include QR codes for customer reviews and a social media integration.

That’s exactly what’s happening in product teams across retail and hospitality right now. We’re so distracted by shiny new features that we’re ignoring the operational foundation that keeps our businesses running. The result? Frustrated customers who can’t complete basic tasks, whilst we’re busy building features that solve problems nobody actually has.

The recent backlash against feature bloat isn’t just tech industry drama – it’s a wake-up call. Users are fed up with apps that can’t nail the basics but somehow find time to add chat functions, gamification, or whatever the latest Silicon Valley trend might be. And in operationally heavy sectors like retail and restaurants, this misprioritisation can be absolutely devastating.

When your inventory management system can’t track stock levels properly, but you’re considering adding a community forum, you’ve lost the plot. When customers can’t complete checkout without multiple attempts, but you’re exploring social shopping features, you’re solving the wrong equation entirely.

The Core-First Priority Recipe

Here’s your antidote to chatification madness: a simple, no-nonsense framework that puts operational excellence before feature excitement. Think of it as a recipe that works every time, no matter how tempting those trendy feature requests become.

Step 1: Map Your Operational Reality

Before you entertain any new feature request, create a brutally honest audit of your core operations:

• What percentage of transactions fail or require manual intervention?
• How often do customers abandon their journey due to technical issues?
• Which operational processes rely on workarounds or manual fixes?
• What support tickets keep appearing week after week?

Document everything. Make it visible. Pin it to the wall if you have to. Your core operational health should be as transparent as yesterday’s sales figures.

Step 2: Apply the Foundation Test

For every new feature request, ask this simple question: “If our foundation is shaky, will this feature make it better or worse?”

Chat features won’t save you if customers can’t complete purchases. Social elements won’t matter if your delivery tracking doesn’t work. Gamification is pointless if your loyalty programme already confuses people.

Create a simple scoring system:

• Foundation Strengthener: Directly improves core operations (priority 1)
• Foundation Neutral: Doesn’t impact core operations but adds genuine value (priority 2)
• Foundation Distraction: Takes resources away from operational issues (priority 3)

Step 3: Build Your “Not Doing” List

This is where the magic happens. For every trendy feature request, document why you’re not doing it – yet. Your “not doing” list should be as detailed as your roadmap:

• What specific operational milestone must be hit first
• What evidence would change your mind
• When you’ll revisit the decision

This isn’t about saying no forever. You’re saying “not until our house is in order.”

Step 4: Communicate the 80/20 Rule

Make this commitment visible to your entire organisation: 80% of your product development capacity goes to operational excellence, 20% to exploration and new features. No exceptions until your operational metrics consistently hit target.

This is a business philosophy that keeps everyone aligned on what actually drives sustainable growth.

Why This Recipe Works Every Time

The core-first approach works because it aligns product development with business reality. In retail and hospitality, operational efficiency directly impacts revenue, customer satisfaction, and team morale. Get the foundations right, and you create a platform for sustainable feature innovation.

More importantly, it gives you a framework for having difficult conversations with stakeholders. When someone suggests the next big feature, you’re not the person saying no, you’re the person with a clear, logical system that puts business value first.

Remember: you can always add chat later, but you can’t easily recover customers lost to broken core experiences. Your priority framework should reflect that reality, not the latest trend from Silicon Valley.

The next time someone brings up chatification in your planning meeting, you’ll be ready with something better: a roadmap that actually makes business sense.