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The ‘dark patterns’ of online commerce: this is how you can manage the customer

Date: March 29, 2024 Time: 19:56:31

The use of online stores is a new form of commerce that is increasingly established in society. The E-commerce 2022 Study prepared by IAB Spain has revealed that 78% of Internet users in our country have made purchases online, allowing Spain to position itself as the ninth country that has generated the most traffic in this sector. In addition, the data suggests that during 2023 these figures will continue to increase. In this context, it is necessary to study whether the policies used by electronic commerce are fair and safeguard the rights of all consumers.

The European Commission, together with the national consumer protection authorities of the twenty-three Member States, have wanted to investigate the websites dedicated to retail sales at the European level. Through this study it has been possible to verify that almost all web pages use “dark pattern” techniques. Of the total of 399 websites investigated, 42 used fake countdown timers, 54 directed the consumer towards certain options and 70 hid too relevant information.

The dark patterns of these pages analyzed by the European Commission clearly show the techniques that Princeton University reveals to differentiate electronic commerce policies that do not respect users. First, they highlight stealthy actions, a method that could misrepresent consumer decisions by omitting certain data. This embezzlement is the most frequent in the European retailers analyzed by the EC, since most of the pages hide the real price of a product, causing the appearance of “surprise costs” through shipping policies.

push user

Despite this, most businesses use urgency as another technique to encourage purchases and for consumers to ignore price rises at the last moment. Princeton revealed that customers felt more pressure when the offers were about to end, the use of false meters is quite frequent and this causes most of us to make our purchases at the last minute, as indicated by the latest report. Ideal in which it is shown that Spanish users make their digital purchases on Sundays between 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Likewise, these slots are marked by the end of the flash offers of the week tickets.

Another quite common procedure to encourage purchases on the Internet is based on the diversion of attention. The 54 pages that the EC has accused of carrying out this practice used flashy graphics and language so that their customers experience changes in preferences when purchasing the product.

Shopping alternatives in turn reflect two other dangers recognized by Princeton within electronic commerce. According to research from this university, the statements of other users are a major factor influencing consumer decisions when choosing which product is the most suitable for their purchases. However, the latest study carried out by the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) revealed that all businesses show a significant percentage of false reviews.

From the EC, the Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, has assured that “our screening shows that almost 40% of online shopping websites are based on manipulative practices to take advantage of consumer vulnerabilities or to deceive them. This behavior is incorrect and contrary to user protection. Currently, we already have binding instruments to help address these types of issues and ask national authorities to use their enforcement capacities to take appropriate action and fight against these practices. In parallel, the Commission is reviewing all consumer protection legislation to ensure its fitness for the digital age, in particular to assess whether dark patterns are adequately covered.”

hidden price increases

Brussels has denounced that, during the promotions of the last Black Friday campaign, the authorities detected nearly 16,000 products distributed among 176 different stores that showed fraudulent offers. Almost half of these offers did not reflect any discount despite the advertising that digital establishments did announce, violating commercial policies on reference prices when implementing a promotion, which must reflect a retail price. that is lower than that registered during the last 30 days. However, this was not the only problem that was detected, since most of the discounts presented a hidden increase in prices and far from showing promotions, some products managed to register increases of 11%.

Idealo has highlighted that we Spaniards are the ones who buy the most in digital stores, ahead of countries like Italy and the United Kingdom. However, before making a purchase we must consider whether it is really necessary, since studies show that the

In general terms, the Mirakl study recognizes that 40% of purchases made in Spain are made online, showing how electronic commerce is a trend that has come to settle, although the European Union recognizes the need to bet for a regulation that penalizes irregular behavior.

* This website provides news content gathered from various internet sources. It is crucial to understand that we are not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented Read More

Puck Henry
Puck Henry
Puck Henry is an editor for ePrimefeed covering all types of news.
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