The fine line between ecommerce brilliance and deception 👹

This week, I was called deceptive and manipulative. Ouch. But not to worry - you were called that, too.

In fact, according to a report by the University of South Australia and the Department of Treasury, titled Patterns In the Dark, we all engage in such practices.

The report found that deceptive and manipulative patterns are present in all of the top social media services, 95% of the world’s most popular mobile apps, and over 11% of the world’s top shopping websites.

Think about why supermarkets place the milk in the back. Or, in our ecommerce world:

• A "Find out more" button that leads to a signup page

• A “No thanks, I don’t like saving money” opt-in message

• Countdown timers or "limited stock" messages to create a sense of urgency

• Removable add-ons like insurance or gift wrapping in carts

• Brightly coloured "Buy Now" buttons vs. subdued "Remove from Cart" options

• Removing or deprioritising negative reviews or ratings

• Burdensome returns processes designed to lower return rates.

Who, hand on heart, can say they haven’t tried at least one of these tactics? Enter Beckham: “Be honest”.

You’ve likely crossed the line from a bright pattern to a sneaky nudge and into a dark pattern at some point in your career. If you haven’t, you likely haven't pushed the limits. That’s my justification.

However, here’s where I have a problem with the report - there is no clear line. The report acknowledges this unknown moral boundary but still uses some strong language.

 “Deceptive patterns exploit the vulnerabilities exposed by cognitive biases present in our fundamental human psychology.”

Isn’t influencing based on these principles a core part of selling? It’s certainly been the job of marketers since Don Draper was smoking cigarettes in nappies.

So, I’ll leave the report here. It provides brilliant examples of influencing human behaviour through anchoring, framing, the status quo, priming, the bandwagon effect, and the sunk cost fallacy.

Read it in the light or in the dark. I’ll leave that up to you.

Cheers, Bushy

PS. Brisbane folk, I’d love to see you at our Add To Cart LIVE this month. Grab your tickets here before GA sells out.

I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge Daniel Bracken, the CEO of Michael Hill, who passed away this week. I had the privilege of working with Daniel and the Michael Hill team a few years ago. While I didn’t know Daniel well, he was always genuinely interested and demonstrated brilliant retail smarts to keep Michael Hill thriving. Most of all, he was hugely admired and respected by those he worked with. My thoughts are with his family and the Michael Hill team.

ECOMMERCE NEWS (from the past week)

🇦🇺 The Aussie Lifestyle: Snags, Wifi and TikTok Scrolling
The consistently brilliant Meltwater + We Are Social Digital 2025 is back for the year. Australians are now spending over 6 hours connected to the internet. In November last year, the average Android user spent 38.5 hours on TikTok. Maybe those dark patterns aren’t so good after all…

🚀 A Near Instant Rocketship with $18m of Funding
Australian start-up Instant, which we featured late last year, has secured $18 million in Series A funding through Hummingbird Ventures, boosting their valuation to over $100 million. Launched in 2022, their marketing retargeting technology is utilised by July, Toys R Us, Peppermayo, and Fayt the Label. This funding is a big vote of confidence in a rapidly evolving space. 

👀 Perplexity’s Comet Is On A Mission To Wipe Out Old Web Browsers
In news that has got SEO Managers Googling “new careers near me”, AI search disrupter Perplexity has announced plans to launch its own web browser, Comet. The waitlist is open now. They currently answer 100m queries weekly and launched an AI-powered shopping assistant in the US last November. Update search: open now.

💳 Shop Pay: Big in Ecom, Invisible to Shoppers?
More research for your brainboxes. Power Retail’s 2025 Ecommerce Payments Experience Report (sexy title). One of the most interesting stats was that out of 1,000 Australian customers, only 18% had heard about Shop Pay and 4% used it in the last 6 months. That seems surprisingly low given how often Shop Pay is the default checkout option. Is it a mistake for retailers to default to Shop Pay? Or does it just have a brand recognition problem? Or should I be getting better data from a report that isn’t brought to you by Stripe?

💜 Morrisons Adds 10% Discount for Disabled Shoppers
UK supermarket Morrisons launched an interesting loyalty offering this week. Partnering with Purpl, a platform that curates discounts for the disabled community, they offer an extra 10% off when they shop online. This is on top of their standard loyalty offerings.

Got thoughts? Hot takes? Ecommerce gossip? Join Add To Cart CAMPUS, our free ecommerce learning community.

ADD TO CART LIVE

Brisbane Edition (26th March) - Early tix now on sale!

I’d love to see my fellow cyclone preppers at our very special Add To Cart LIVE with Jackie Kruger, CEO of Black Milk, on the 26th of March. We’re capping this at 100 attendees. The first 50 tickets are up for grabs now—after that, we’ll move to a waitlist, with priority given to retailers. Tickets are $20 and include a bar tab, thanks to our friends at Retail Fest.

🍻 Get your tickets

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Nathan Bush is an independent Australian ecommerce transformation consultant, with expertise in marketing, technology, and team leadership. If you're looking for fresh ideas, facing key decisions, or implementing significant investments, I'd love to work with you. Learn more and get in touch.