Designing for trust
Promoting transparent user experiences on e-commerce platforms
Brands are increasingly engaging directly with consumers through personalised and tech-enabled experiences. While effective designs and interfaces can facilitate ease of use, the proliferation of “dark patterns” or tactics that mislead consumers into unintended purchases or subscriptions needs to be addressed. The Department of Consumer Affairs has increased its supervision over e-commerce operators to restore informed decision-making powers to consumers. Some of the identified practices by regulators are:
- False urgency
- Basket sneaking
- Confirm shaming
- Forced actions
- Disguised advertisements and others.
The recent notification dated 5 June 2025 mandates e-commerce companies to review their platforms for dark patterns and conduct a self-audit within three months of issuance of the guidelines, i.e., by September 2025. These interventions ensure ethical growth, reinforcing India’s commitment to a fair and transparent e-commerce ecosystem.
Our services offer a comprehensive approach to identifying dark patterns across user interfaces, which include:
The Deloitte India difference
Ethical design and regulatory compliance are essential. We can help you meet the CCPA’s requirements and provide enhanced visibility and monitoring across UI/UX platforms, facilitating timely interventions and effective control mechanisms. We can help with:
