Can Zomato Solve Dark Patterns in Movie Ticketing Business Post Paytm's Vertical Acquisition? 

One of the most happening trends in the movie-ticketing space is that Zomato has completed the acquisition of Paytm’s entertainment ticketing business. Another thing that has emerged in the space has been the rise of dark patterns in events and movie ticketing platforms. 

Showing a lucrative and cheap price on the ticketing platform and then levying a booking fee that is hefty is one of the most common dark pattern practices that is faced by consumers, as per a survey by community platform LocalCircles. The survey took the inputs of more than 22,000 people and highlighted that 80 per cent of users of movie and event ticketing platforms mentioned that they frequently experienced hidden charges (other than taxes). These charges were not mentioned at the time of making the selection. 

Before delving any further, let’s understand what dark patterns are and how they affect our daily lives. 

What Are Dark Patterns? 

Also known as deceptive design patterns, dark patterns are deceptive design tricks used in user interfaces (UI) or experiences (UX) that are used to manipulate users into doing something that they originally didn’t intend to do. The term was coined in 2010 by user experience designer Harry Brignull. 

This in turn leads to harming the autonomy of consumers and their choices. Dark patterns undermines consumer autonomy and choice, resulting in misleading advertisements, unfair trade practices, and violations of consumer rights. Key dark pattern features include blanket sneaking, drip pricing and nagging.

Basket sneaking involves payments to charity and the inclusion of additional items without the consent of the consumer. Nagging implies that consumers must go through lots of requests, information that is not related to the transaction, or interruptions. False urgency creates a misleading sense of immediacy or scarcity to push consumers into buying a product right away. Drip pricing involves hiding certain price details or revealing them gradually while users are engaged with the service.

In simple words, these practices misleads a consumer. On November 20, 2023, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) released a notification in which thirteen such practices were identified as dark patterns.

Read: Zomato Completes Acquisition of Paytm's Entertainment Ticketing Subsidiaries 

In an earlier interview to Medianama, Manisha Kapoor, CEO, ASCI,“I would say the patterns or the guidelines for dark patterns are really under the larger umbrella of what could be considered misleading advertisements,” said Manisha Kapoor, CEO, ASCI, to Medianama. 

Now, coming back to the survey, it is mentioned that 73 per cent of users experienced basket-sneaking where they were required to make a social contribution or another payment without their consent.

“Dark patterns on movie and event ticketing platforms are rampant, according to feedback received from consumers by LocalCircles over the last 12 months,” says Sachin Taparia, Founder of LocalCircles. 

Dark Patterns in Movie and Ticketing Platforms 

Additionally, on BookMyShow, consumers complained that they experienced three types of dark patterns, including basket sneaking, drip pricing, and false urgency. On Paytm Insider and PVR, consumers reported basket sneaking and drip pricing.

“Even during the 'One Day Cricket World Cup' held last year, many consumers complained about dark patterns like forced action where they were made to exit the purchase process for a ticket that was in their cart,"  says Taparia.

Read: How Zomato-Paytm Deal Can Disrupt BookMyShow's Monopoly So, with the Paytm-Zomato acquisition completed, it becomes imperative that Zomato address the dark pattern issues raised on Paytm Insider. “Zomato should ensure that dark pattern issues raised by consumers in regard to PayTM Insider are addressed before they scale the platform to a larger user base,” adds Taparia. 

Government Goes After Dark Patterns 

To crackdown on dark patterns, the government has been trying several ways. In July last year, the centre asked e-commerce platforms to not use dark patterns on their platforms. A seventeen-member task force was also set up to prepare guidelines to protect consumers. 

In December last year, the government also sent notice to e-commerce giant Amazon because of its alleged use of dark patterns to trick consumers into subscribing to Amazon Prime membership, as per a Moneycontrol report. 

The notice sent by the government reportedly says, “Amazon.in has knowingly duped millions of consumers into unknowingly enrolling in its Amazon Prime service.” 

Additionally, in December last year, the government banned e-commerce platforms from using dark patterns for sales. While notifying it as unfair trade practices, the government also highlighted that the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) can fine and levy penal actions on the offenders. 

In June this year, the Department of Consumer Affairs took part in an interactive session titled “Dark Patterns and Strategies to Implement the Guidelines.” Nidhi Khare, Secretary of the Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India, warned e-commerce platforms against using dark patterns, describing them as “unfair trade practices” that infringe on consumer rights. 

There are also reports that the government is developing tools that will help identify dark patterns for consumers. In association with the Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University (IIT-BHU), the department of consumer affairs (DoCA) is developing the tool. While the tool was supposed to come up within the first 100 days of the government, it remains to be seen when it will come up. 

To add to it, a recent ASCI study found that 52 of 53 surveyed apps used dark patterns for marketing, with healthtech platforms leading, followed by travel and fintech. With these top 53 apps being downloaded over 21 billion times, consumer exposure to deceptive practices is significant. ASCI's CEO, Kapoor, urged organisations to adopt design principles that ensure consumers can make informed choices. 

Meanwhile, Taparia says that they will soon go to the government with the findings and wait for necessary actions. “LocalCircles will soon escalate the findings of this study with the government regulator CCPA and urge them to take necessary action,” says Taparia. 

The advantage that India faces when it comes to online consumption of content, or for that matter, usage of the internet, is the fact that we have a young population who are active internet users. The country is home to the world’s largest youngest population, with more than 60 percent of them under the age of 35.

To add to it is the increasing internet penetration in India. A report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India and Kantar says that India is home to around 821 million users as of 2023. While the convenience of e-commerce and online platforms becomes a way of life, it has become important to be cautious about deceptive practices such as dark patterns. Even though it is hard to say how long the battle will be, one thing is sure: it is a battle that needs to be fought together by the government and consumers.