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Powers of persuasion Was Black Friday just smoke and mirrors?
By Hilary Stephenson, managing director at UX design agency Sigma
Since the rise of Black Friday in the UK, queues outside Next from the early hours and fights over TVs in Tesco have become synonymous with the bargain price weekend, but this year is going to look a little different.
W
ith high streets closed and city centres deserted,
the focus of Black Friday 2020 was going to be almost entirely online, which opened opportunities for online retailers to employ hidden tricks to extract more money from unsuspecting shoppers. Following on from the effects of the pandemic, eCommerce is projected to become a £78.9 billion industry in the UK, and unlike in physical shops, customers can be subjected to manipulative sales tactics in a much more subtle manner.
User experience (UX) design should be inherently user- friendly as it is focused on creating a positive journey for online users, but the industry has a dark side and the use of deceptive design patterns is becoming more prevalent. These often-unseen design decisions could be used to trick customers into spending more money, or encourage them to make choices they otherwise wouldn’t.
Although dark UX patterns can be found across all sectors of eCommerce, travel
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and fashion are particularly prolific. How many times has a website told you there is only one room left at a certain price, or that you must buy that jacket before time runs out? Dark UX techniques can be disguised as helpful prompts for the user when they are instead manipulating behaviours. But they can take on the more sinister form of adding unwanted services or coercing users into sharing personal information.
With the economic effects of coronavirus being felt across the country, and purse strings tighter than in previous years, designers should take an active role in making their UX genuinely user friendly. In a difficult year, honest and ethical eCommerce should be a priority for designers over Black Friday.
Misdirection Misdirection is an example of dark UX which is seen widely across internet commerce and uses design to subtly nudge the customer in a certain, more expensive direction or hides certain commitments. It often involves making cheaper
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