Black Friday is just over a week away and already big brands and popular high street retailers are teasing shoppers with early deals and promising bigger discounts are on the way ahead of the annual global sales event on Friday, November 26.
However, web design expert Andy Woods of Rouge Media is warning shoppers to be on the lookout for ‘dark patterns’ and how they can manipulate your behaviour when you visit a website.
From feeling pressured by time-limited deals, going round in circles trying to cancel a subscription, and being tempted to add recommended products to your basket, online retailers have an arsenal of tactics to get you to spend more and keep coming back.
These are what design professionals call 'dark patterns'.
To help recognise the traps retailers can set, Andy shares his top tips for shopping smart online this Black Friday.
What are dark patterns?
Dark patterns are design trickery.
Much like a magician's sleight of hand, online retailers will craft their website in a way that encourages you to behave how they want, often without you even realising.
There are many different types of dark patterns and they’re designed to benefit the company rather than make your experience as easy and pleasurable as possible.
It’s not enough just to get site visitors, most businesses need you to:
- Buy something
- Sign-up to a newsletter
- Follow them on social media
- Request more information
- Leave your contact details
Five examples of dark patterns and how to avoid them
Confirmshaming
Making you feel bad for saying no, “confirmshaming” is a dark pattern technique that brands use to shame or guilt you into signing up for something or staying on their site for longer.
What should have been a simple button with nothing more than “No, thanks” becomes full of emotion, like “No, I’m happy missing out on huge deals” or “No thanks, I’d rather pay full price”.
Always take these messages with a pinch of salt and don’t feel bad about making the right choice for you. The more users who say no despite the confirmshaming, the less likely brands will continue doing it.
Hidden costs
Hidden costs con you into spending more money than you bargained for. Sites draw you in with a cheap price or the lowest possible fee, then add undisclosed costs along the way. Sometimes it can even be at the latest possible stage before committing to buy.
People will often pay these extra fees - such as processing fees or delivery charges - as they have already convinced themselves to purchase what’s in their basket.
Keep your eyes peeled when going through the checkout process and if you’re not happy paying them, find another site to buy through.
Forced continuity
Free trials can be great to test out a subscription before signing on the dotted line.
However, with forced continuity, services make it much more difficult to unsubscribe than to stay. Whether it be hidden in the depths of their site, or they don’t remind you when the free trial ends, this is a common problem consumers face.
To avoid getting a shock on your bank statement, log your free trials yourself. Set a calendar reminder to end a free trial before it starts charging. Clicking on the site map of a website can also make it easier to find the unsubscribe page.
Disguised ads
Ads are everywhere online, making it more difficult to avoid clicking on one.
However, adverts should be obvious, so when they are disguised as editorial content, impossible to close, or get in the way of navigating around the site naturally, that’s a dark pattern.
Go slow when you can see ads on a site to avoid accidently clicking on one. Often the exit button is faint but in the top right of a pop up, so keep your eyes peeled.
Friend spam
Friend spam can occur when a website asks for your email or social media permissions under the pretence that good suggestions will follow - be it more friends or job opportunities.
However, instead of giving you control, it spams your contacts with auto messages claiming to come from you.
This is all about checking your settings.
Read into the permissions you’re giving to websites when signing up or giving over personal data, so you know exactly what you’re getting yourself in for - and your friends.
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