- Consumers lose Rs 25,000-28,000 crore yearly due to misleading online design tactics
- 88% of 304 million Indian online shoppers face extra costs from hidden fees and traps
- 63% of users report hidden charges during checkout, up from 52% in 2024
Consumers are estimated to lose between Rs 25,000 crore and Rs 28,000 crore each year because of misleading online design tactics, often referred to as "dark patterns", according to Datum Intelligence Report.
The report, titled Dark Patterns in India's Online Marketplaces, found that nearly 88% of India's 304 million online shoppers incur additional costs of around Rs 78–Rs 87 per month due to practices such as hidden fees, compulsory add-ons, drip pricing, false urgency prompts, and subscription traps.
The report noted that current regulatory measures have had only limited effectiveness in preventing deceptive digital practices that continue to affect a large number of consumers. It called for stricter penalties against deceptive digital practices and enforceable rules on dark patterns.
A survey, conducted among 2,590 consumers across 50 cities, found that about 63% of users making online payments encountered hidden charges or drip pricing, where extra costs become visible only during the final stages of checkout. This represents a significant rise from 52% reported in 2024.
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The report also revealed that 73% of the platforms examined use forced-action techniques that pressure users into making choices they may not have otherwise made.
Among e-commerce companies, Amazon ranked as the most trusted platform, with half of the surveyed users identifying it as their preferred choice. Flipkart stood out as the only platform where the level of distrust (41%) exceeded trust (37%), which the report linked to greater perceived financial impact on users. In the online travel category, MakeMyTrip was viewed as the safest platform, while Cleartrip was among those considered most problematic. Within the quick-commerce segment, BigBasket recorded one of the highest severity ratings for dark-pattern usage.
The study also pointed to what it described as an “awareness paradox.” Although 81% of respondents claimed to understand what dark patterns are, 85% admitted they had still been influenced or misled by such practices.
At the same time, consumer demand for transparency appears strong, with 74% of online shoppers saying they would be willing to pay a premium to use platforms that follow fair and transparent design principles.
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