SINGAPORE: Fake visitor counts, fabricated countdown timers and false discount claims. These were the deceptive website features that landed three online retailers in trouble with Singapore’s consumer regulator.The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCS) on May 18 called out Seager, which operates Boarding Gate, Light In The Box and Origin Sleep for using these so-called “dark patterns” to pressure consumers into making purchases.They are not the first to come under scrutiny for such tactics. Last year, CCS also rapped electronics retailer Prism+ and online travel agency Agoda over similar practices.MANIPULATION OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOURDark patterns are designed to manipulate consumer behaviour, often by exploiting mental “auto-pilot” and psychological biases.
For example, humans are hardwired to respond to scarcity cues and time pressure. This is why a phony “almost sold out” alert or a sale countdown clock can trigger a fear of missing out and nudge people into making unintended purchases. Similarly, being told that “17 people are looking at this product right now” can feel like social proof that the product is worth buying.Crucially, dark patterns are often subtle and difficult to prove.In the latest case, it took CCS investigators combing through website code to confirm that Boarding Gate’s visitor counts were randomised code. Origin Sleep’s claim of time-limited promotion needed to be verified over time, with such promotions rolling on for nearly two years under new labels such as “Flash Sale” and “3.3 Mega Sale”. For Light In The Box, the retailer’s claim of limited stock is an impossibility as they operated on a made-to-order model - information that is not easily available to the public.
