A recent survey by LocalCircles has revealed the prevalence of deceptive marketing practices, known as dark patterns, in the movie and event ticketing industry. At least 73 percent of respondents reported experiencing “Basket Sneaking,” where additional charges are added to their cart without their consent, while 80 percent of users encountered hidden charges that were not disclosed in advance and 62 percent of respondents felt pressured to book tickets quickly due to misleading urgency messages.
LocalCircles conducted a nationwide survey that received over 22,000 responses from users of movie and event ticketing apps located across over 296 districts in the country. 61% of the respondents were male, while 39% were female. 44% of the respondents were from Tier 1, 31% from Tier 2 and 25% of the respondents were from Tier 3, 4 and rural districts.
A subset of the same users who participated in the survey submitted their ratings for online ticketing platforms PVR, BookMyShow and PayTM Insider. Users reported experiencing three dark patterns i.e. Basket Sneading, Drip Pricing and False Urgency on BookMyShow. Basket Sneading and Drip Pricing were also reported on PayTM Insider and PVR.
One of the most common deceptive marketing practices reported by many consumers across India is advertising a low ticket price for a show, movie, or event and then charging a high online booking fee at the last step. Another common practice reported by consumers is ticketing platforms adding a contribution or some other charge in the shopping cart and requiring consumers to uncheck and delete it. This practice is also identified as a dark pattern known as Basket Sneaking.
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) identified 13 such deceptive practices in a gazette notification published on November 30, 2023 and classified them as dark patterns and as misleading advertising, unfair trade practice, or consumer rights violation. These 13 dark patterns include false urgency, shopping cart theft, order confirmation shaming, forced action, subscription trap, interface interference, bait and switch, drip pricing, covert advertising, prodding, tricky question, SaaS (software as a service) billing, and malicious malware.
Common Dark Patterns Explained:
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Drip Pricing: Advertise low base rates and then add fees during the booking process. -
Forced action: Requiring unnecessary steps or information before completing a purchase. -
Confirm the shame:Using guilt or fear to pressure consumers into completing a purchase. -
Sneaky Basketball:From brick-and-mortar stores to e-commerce platforms, it is not unusual to seek consumer contribution for a social cause. Sometimes, this contribution is added to the consumer’s bill without their consent, also known as Basket Sneaking. -
False urgency: Create a sense of limited availability or time pressure, such as displaying messages like “Only a few tickets left!” or “Limited time offer.” -
Interface interference:Designing websites or applications in a way that is confusing or difficult to navigate, leading consumers to make unwanted purchases. -
Bait and switch: Example: Advertising a product or service at a low price and then making it unavailable or promoting a more expensive option. -
Persistent: Continuously invite users with pop-ups or notifications to make a purchase. - Irick Question: Using confusing or misleading language to trick consumers into making undesirable decisions.
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SaaS ((Software as a Service) Billing: Signing up consumers for recurring subscription plans without their explicit consent. -
Fraudulent malware: Using malware to manipulate consumer behavior or steal personal information.
“Platforms like BookMyShow, PayTM Insider and PVR currently have a prevalence of dark patterns as per the user feedback exercise and there is an urgent need for them to address it given that it has been a CCPA requirement for 9 months now,” said Sachin Taparia, Founder, LocalCircles.
First published: August 23, 2024 | 11:57 am IS
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