- 'Dark patterns' push online shoppers to buy things in a way they normally would not.
- Instacart uses more dark patterns than other online grocery retailers, according to a new report.
- Examples include a countdown clock and charging automatically for a subscription after a trial.
Online shoppers are familiar with prompts to spend more money or complete a purchase quickly in order to get free shipping.
Among grocery websites, Instacart uses the most of these tactics, known as "dark patterns," UK-based payment-processing comparison startup Merchant Machine found in a report this month. Merchant Machine said it found five patterns on Instacart's website. Walmart came in second with four, according to the study.
Dark patterns can take a variety of forms. But they all have a common goal: Encourage customers to take an action they might not otherwise, such as buying more products or signing up for a service.
"Instacart specifically benefits from these tactics because each one of them is designed to make shoppers spend more, complete the transaction faster or subscribe to a service that that probably wouldn't have without being coaxed into it," Ian Wright, founder of Merchant Machine, told Insider.
Instacart declined to comment on the record for this story. Walmart did not respond to a request for comment.
Instacart's dark patterns include a countdown clock and automatically charging after a free trial ends
Dark patterns got their name in 2010. That's when Harry Brignull, a user-experience designer, started compiling examples of such tactics and posting them on his website.
Today, the website refers to these elements as both dark patterns and "deceptive design patterns." It defines them as "tricks used in websites and apps that make you do things that you didn't mean to, like buying or signing up for something."
The most prominent patterns that Merchant Machine found on Instacart's website include a countdown clock offering new users free delivery on their order. The countdown implies that free delivery won't be available after 12 hours.
Another prominent example: Instacart offers a two-week free trial of Instacart+, the company's subscription service. But like many free trials, it requires customers to give the company their credit card information beforehand. Instacart charges customers for the service after two weeks unless they remember to cancel it.
Other dark patterns that Merchant Machine noted include prompts to spend more money while shopping, a potential bag fee charged after a delivery is completed, and product suggestions.
Dark patterns have become common online, especially on shopping websites
Instacart is far from alone in using dark patterns. Brignull's website includes a "Hall of Shame," which features offenders ranging from HP's printer ink subscription program to language-learning app Duolingo to Google Maps.
While reviewing Walmart's website, Merchant Machine said it encountered a message that read: "Items in your cart are selling fast! Check out soon before they're sold out."
Dark patterns have also proliferated in other parts of retail, according to Merchant Machine. Amazon's website had the most dark patterns of any retail website at 11, according to the report. Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.
California became the first state to ban dark patterns, with a law that took effect in March 2021. The Federal Trade Commission has also ordered some companies that use dark patterns to stop using them. Last month, the Commission ordered Credit Karma to pay $3 million to consumers, saying that the company used dark patterns to make them think they were preapproved for a credit card when they actually weren't.
Dark patterns have proliferated online because of how easy it is for companies to adjust their websites and apps, the FTC wrote in a September report on the issue.
"This type of design experimentation, if used to deceive consumers or manipulate them into taking unwitting or detrimental actions, is a signal of dark patterns at work," the report says.