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).
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.
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.
Q-commerce and online platforms should rethink deceptive design as it triggers immediate consumer retaliation that outweighs conversion benefits.
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.”
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.
