Internal Documents Say Amazon Uses Obscure Patterns to Get Users to Subscribe to Prime
A series of internal documents obtained by Business Insider claim that Amazon, at least since 2017, has been modifying the user interface of its website and app to force users to subscribe to Prime. This is known as " using dark patterns ," which are a series of user experience (UX) tactics used to force users to follow certain behaviors desired by the designer, even against their will.
An example would be to allow shoppers to automatically enroll in a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime with a single click on the " Get free two-day delivery with Prime " tab at checkout, without any additional confirmation steps. It's common for trial periods to eventually convert into paid subscriptions because users often forget to cancel, which is usually quite complicated and requires many steps.
Amazon confirmed to use dark patterns
Amazon has been aware of these complaints for years, but hasn't taken serious action. Solutions to these problems were proposed and considered, but they resulted in lower subscription growth when tested and were therefore discarded. Some employees are now worried that regulatory bodies will take action regarding the opaque practices Amazon has been using for years.
The FTC has already questioned Amazon about its underwriting practices in recent years. Amazon corporate lawyers held private meetings with members of the Prime team in response to these inquiries.
Amazon has received numerous complaints from regulatory bodies, primarily due to its market position. In a 2018 internal report, Amazon discovered that customers " did not understand the impact of their choice " when clicking on buttons labeled " Continue with free 1-day shipping " or " Get free 2-day shipping ." Users didn't realize that the " Free 2-day shipping with Prime " label required an Amazon Prime subscription, leading to " frustration over an unexpected financial obligation ." The report deemed this " critical " because " Prime memberships are not always transparent ." In short, the reports on user experience and the resistance to change suggest that Amazon is exploiting this confusion to attract more Prime members.
Amazon has made several changes to its sign-up page. These now include a clarification that a user is signing up for a " FREE trial " of Amazon Prime, but many older issues that Amazon knew confused customers remain unchanged.
