Recently a trend is emerging especially on subscription sites, airlines, car hire and booking systems where its nigh on impossible to unsubscribe from their services.
The scenario runs like this.
subscribe in 1 click – unsubscribe using dark UI takes 18 steps where the confirmation to unsubscribe or extend for 3 more months is done by reversing the colour of the buttons on the site at the crucial step
Popup windows on mobile where the x to close action is hidden up behind the battery status icon making it almost impossible to close without signing up
The result is the cheesing off of customers to the point where there only way out is to cancel their credit cards.
Who in their right mind thinks this is the way to create customer loyalty by sticking like chewing gum on the sole of your shoe ?
This kind of UX is generally the preserve of industries where they have a monopoly or very few if any competitors or there is a cabale of providers who operate the same way.
Some airlines are guilty of this – how do they get away with it ? They get away with it because they are “cheaper” if you are able to get to the final booking screen without being tricked into some purchase that you don’t need or is completely useless you deserve an award. The UX is deliberately designed to confuse. Every single interaction has confusion built in. Booking the ticket in the first place – getting a boarding pass ( why is this a thing ) – to checking in bags.
Are there laws against this soft of selling behavior and are these laws enforced ? This sort of online UX design is referred to as “Dark Patterns” there is currently no specific law against it but a business could be challenged under the Consumer Rights Directive, the Unfair Contract Terms Directive and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. However its all well and good having a directive but if there is no enforcement or the price of enforcement is the preserve of governments then its nothing but an academic excercise enshrined in another piece of legislation. As with GDPR its only worth while enforcing on the large offenders. The ripped off customers never get their money and this money is usually used to pay the fine, thus leaving the offended with a zero net loss at worst. Therefore there is absolutely no deterrent to what is effectively hood winking of the customer into paying more.
I have always said business can be dirty or clean. Clean businesses build loyal customers and value. Dirty businesses abuse customers – jack up prices and partake covert conning.
I would like to start a campaign against subscription services where the unsubscribe must be the exact reverse of the subscribe. So if its 1 checkbox to subscribe its 1 checkbox on the same screen to unsubscribe and not 18 confusing steps – with email confirmation – sms text message codes all in the name of security !!
If you find yourself adding elements to your ecommerce site where you are trying to trick the customer into buying more using some clever UX – think again,because you eill detroy your reputation and it will manifest itself in online reviews that once written are there forever.