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IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS

How Amazon Uses Dark Patterns to Manipulate User Behavior

Darko Stankovic
Bootcamp
Published in
6 min readFeb 15, 2023

Amazon is one of the world’s largest and most popular online retailers, with a user base of over 200 million people worldwide. As a company that relies heavily on e-commerce and online shopping, Amazon has long been known for its user-friendly interface and efficient shopping experience. However, behind the slick design and seamless user experience, there’s a darker side to Amazon’s online shopping experience. The company is notorious for using “dark patterns,” manipulative design techniques that coerce and deceive users. Amazon’s use of dark patterns is not new, but it has received increased attention from researchers and users in recent years. In this article, we will explore some situations when Amazon’s user experience design may not always be in the best interest of its users.

Thumbnail for an article titled: “How Amazon Uses Dark Patterns to Manipulate User Behavior”.
How Amazon Uses Dark Patterns to Manipulate User Behavior

These are some of the most common dark patterns employed by Amazon:

  • Forced continuity
  • Misdirection
  • Use of “nudges”
  • Social proof
  • Scarcity
  • Reciprocity
  • Hidden cost
  • Bait-and-switch
  • Decoy
  • Pricing strategy
  • Forced opt-in

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Responses (1)

What are your thoughts?

Not sure if I would call them "Dark patterns" . These are more selling strategies and not only Amazon does that but every e-commerce have some in place, with the aim to optimise conversions. At the end of the day we are talking about online stores…