Experts reveal 7 sneaky ways online retailers trick you into spending more money

By William On Apr 25, 2023

Online retailers have a playbook to get consumers to spend more money without realizing it – but experts are pulling the power back on these “shady practices.”

Companies sneak items into checkout baskets, have hidden fees, and conduct privacy sucking — named after Meta’s CEO because of how his companies surreptitiously collected user data.

Amazon has been called out for being the biggest offender of deceptive designs for things like automatically ticking subscription boxes, while StubHub has been accused of hiding fees.

Financial and anti-money laundering experts from KyrosAML.com identified seven of the most common dark pattern techniques to help you spot them and avoid their tricks.

Amazon was named the top offender of deceptive designs for things like auto-checking subscription boxes

Trick questions

Some questions may appear to ask one thing but are designed to ask something else, tricking users into providing the company’s desired answer.

This plagues users when registering for a service as they are presented with different checkboxes when subscribing or unsubscribing.

For example, when canceling a subscription, there may be two options: ‘Continue’ and ‘Cancel’.

Most people will select “Cancel” because they want to terminate the service, but this actually cancels the process.

Experts with KyrosAML.com urge consumers to take their time when performing tasks with online retailers.

Secretly sneaking items into your shopping cart

If you’ve noticed an unwanted product in your checkout, you’re not alone.

Online retailers are sneaking items in hoping unsuspecting shoppers won’t see the extra cost.

“This can happen if you miss an opt-out button or if a combo deal is offered in addition to the product you actually want,” the experts shared in a statement.

This was discovered in 2015 when British sports retailer Sportsdirect.com added unwanted magazine subscriptions to consumers’ checkouts.

In 2015, British sports retailer sportsdirect.com added unwanted magazine subscriptions to consumers’ checkouts. The added item costs less than £1, making it easy to miss

The added item costs less than £1, making it easy to miss.

Be thorough when checking out purchases from online retailers.

Hidden charges at checkout

Some products may become more expensive at checkout due to last minute additions of taxes, delivery charges or essential extras.

Merchant Machine data alleges delivery giant Instacart is guilty of this scheme, and Deceptive Designs credits Stubhub using hidden fees to generate revenue.

“Their method was to advertise a low price, bring in users through a long series of steps, and then reveal a final higher price at the end, immediately prior to payment,” said Misleading designsa group of lawyers dealing with tackling online retail programs.

“At that point, the user had already put in the time and effort, so they had to trade off the time and energy costs of trying to find a lower price elsewhere (and the risk of failure) versus just paying.”

Experts note that there’s probably no way to avoid hidden costs, but keep in mind that goods like tickets and hotel bookings will cost more than what’s first advertised.

Shoppers are also encouraged to report companies that charge additional fees.

Consumer Reports found in 2019 that 64 percent of people who complained about a hidden or unexpected fee had the fee successfully debited from an account or refunded.

Hidden costs are another tactic used by many online retailers. StubHub has been accused of this in the past. Consumers think a ticket costs $310, but other fees are charged at checkout

Privacy Zuckering

This tactic is named after Facebook founder and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg because of that website’s early practice of collecting user data.

It “entices you to share more private information than you’re comfortable with,” explains Merchant Machine.

Zuckering is named after Facebook founder and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg because of that website’s early practice of collecting user data

Privacy Zuckering was used by LinkedIn in 2015 as part of the registration process.

New users were asked to add their email address, which LinkedIn then used to “extract all the email addresses it could find,” according to Deceptive Designs.

While the page provided a description of this feature, the text was gray on a blue background, making it relatively low contrast and difficult to notice, and the textual content did not clearly state the impact.

Experts recommend that you always read the terms of service, in which consumers know whether and how their data is collected or shared.

And know your rights when it comes to online safety and privacy.

Confirming consumers

Some companies use loaded language to make users feel guilty or panic into agreeing to something they’d rather not, such as choosing a subscription service.

This was done in 2018 by MyMedic, a company that sells medical supplies and first aid kits, when users were asked permission to receive notifications.

When asking permission for his website, the opt-out link label was presented as “No, I don’t want to stay alive” or “No, I’d rather bleed to death.”

Experts said the only way to beat this trick is to not let companies bully you into doing unwanted tasks or purchases.

Some companies use loaded language to make users feel guilty or panic into agreeing to something they’d rather not, such as choosing a subscription service. MyMedic gave a rather compelling reason for people to sign up for notifications

Disguised ads

This shady practice is done by “blurring the line” between actual content and advertising, confusing shoppers.

Some websites may use images or links that look like regular content or action buttons, but are hyperlinked advertisements in disguise.

Roach Motel

A subscription might be easy to sign up, but a nightmare to cancel – and this is how companies keep customers paying.

This is usually done by hiding the cancellation process or telling customers to call the company.

Deceptive Designs cites The New York Times as a violator of this tactic after subscribers reportedly had to “call customer service to cancel, be on hold for a long time, or be redirected to other web pages without being able to cancel their subscription.”

While these tricks often go unnoticed, Mark Wright of KyrosAML.com said you can protect yourself by taking your time, managing your privacy and knowing your rights.

‘Watch for changing privacy legislation. Be aware of your rights and report any instances of dark patterns you come across,” Mr Wright said.

“Being aware of these common dark pattern techniques will help you protect yourself from falling into their trap.

“Stay vigilant, especially with online purchases, and use social media to warn others of dark patterns if you come across them.”