I am not a huge fan of shopping at Amazon. For quite some time now I’ve found their website difficult to use due to Amazon valuing tracking customers more than they value us having a good shopping experience. (Also, did you know Amazon.com has 3 shopping carts for its 3 different delivery systems?)
I do most of my shopping elsewhere, but I do like some of the shows Amazon has made, so a few months back I signed up for Amazon Prime. I had planned to subscribe for just one month and then cancel, but things didn’t work out that way.
After I got the first receipt email for the monthly renewal, I made sure to go in and cancel my subscription. Or at least that is what I thought I had done, which is why I was surprised when I got another receipt for another month of Amazon Prime.
It turns out that Amazon has an intentionally tricky cancellation process. After you think you’ve cancelled Amazon Prime, you are taken to a page where Amazon implies you’ve cancelled your subscription, but what they hope you don’t notice is that you have to scroll down and complete the process.
This screenshot shows you what I saw in my web browser. What it doesn’t show you is that down off the bottom right edge is the actual cancellation button:
In fact, you have to go through two more screens to actually cancel Amazon prime.
In case you are interested, what we are seeing here is an example of a “dark pattern”.
Dark Pattern is a term used to describe an interface which is designed to trick users into doing something they didn’t want to do. I had seen this about a decade ago with the Kindle Unlimited competitor Scribd. They were using it the exact same then as Amazon is now, and for the same reason: to trick you into continuing your subscription.
If you would like to learn more dark patterns, the site Deceptive Patterns is a good place to start.
One thing I want to point out about dark patterns is that their use is widely regarded as deceptive, as tricking consumers. That’s why regulators have started cracking down on the practice.
For example, Amazon was pressured by European consumer protection authorities to stop using dark patterns in the Amazon Prime cancellation process way back in July 2022 (PDF).
Alas, that has only impacted European consumers, but I do have some good news for my fellow Americans. Amazon is also being sued by the (USA) FTC over dark patterns in the Amazon Prime sign-up and cancellation process. That lawsuit is scheduled for June 2025.
0 Comments