When design deceives: consumer reactions to dark patterns in quick commerce

What the paper says

Purpose This study aims to investigate how dark patterns embedded in the user interfaces (UIs) of Indian quick-commerce (q-commerce) platforms shape consumer trust, loyalty, perceived betrayal, punitive intent and negative word-of-mouth (NWOM). Design/methodology/approach A between-subjects experimental design was used, simulating a purchase experience on a q-commerce platform with realistic checkout interfaces. Participants, who were users of q-commerce platforms, were randomly assigned to either a control group or one of three treatment groups featuring a specific dark pattern: basket sneaking, false scarcity or confirm-shaming. Post-exposure, participants completed validated self-report measures of all variables. Findings Results showed that exposure to dark patterns did not significantly affect brand trust for any dark pattern, while loyalty showed a small decrease only for confirm-shaming. However, all three dark patterns significantly increased perceived betrayal, punitive intent and NWOM. Among patterns tested, false scarcity elicited the strongest negative consumer reactions, followed by basket sneaking and confirm-shaming. Practical implications Q-commerce and online platforms should rethink deceptive design as it triggers immediate consumer retaliation that outweighs conversion benefits. Social implications Results strengthen arguments for stricter UI design regulations and for consumer-education campaigns that help shoppers spot urgency tricks and hidden fees before they click “buy-now.” Originality/value This study contributes to the sparse academic literature on q-commerce by offering causal evidence on dark patterns in India’s newly regulated digital environment. This paper demonstrates that single-exposure manipulations trigger immediate expressive retaliation while maintaining attitudinal stability, challenging linear relationship deterioration models.