• Consumers are increasingly prioritizing sustainable and intentional purchasing over mindless consumption. Forward-thinking brands that embrace this trend stand to gain long-term trust and loyalty.
• Introducing friction points into digital product design can disrupt compulsive usage loops that trap users in transaction-focused online environments.
• Designing e-commerce platforms for slow, intentional shopping can help users avoid making rushed, impulsive decisions that they later come to regret.
• Using social media to build communities—instead of solely driving clicks and pushing sales—allows brands to forge new social norms around mindful consumption.

From e-commerce platforms to wellness apps, digital products are largely designed to keep users hooked. Unfortunately, brands frequently use behavioral science techniques to subtly steer consumer behavior, leveraging deceptive design tricks—often referred to as dark patterns—to get consumers to make unintended buying decisions.² While these unethical strategies can be effective at boosting short-term profits, they’re not great at forging long-term customer loyalty. Research shows that manipulative design strategies negatively affect how customers feel about brands, creating annoyance and reducing trust.² 

These negative consequences have recently become more pressing given the growing movement away from compulsive shopping.³ Over the past few years, the tide has shifted toward mindful shopping, thrifting, sharing, and repurposing instead of impulse buying. Many consumers today are looking to save both time and money when using platforms that encourage purchases.⁴ 

Some brands understandably see this trend as a threat to sales and profit.³ But others have wholeheartedly embraced the move toward intentional purchasing. Patagonia, for example, stands out as a leader in the mindful consumption movement, challenging customers to buy less while fostering a strong sense of identity alignment with their customers. Increasingly, companies are exploring ways to create ongoing relationships with consumers without focusing entirely on sales. Whether this means offering repairs, renewals, modifications, or updates, these brands are giving customers access to smarter consumption behaviors.³ In the following sections, we examine some promising behavioral design strategies that can help keep this trend going.

Whether it's social media apps, streaming services, or e-commerce websites, digital platforms are increasingly designed to hold attention and trap users in compulsive usage loops. And when people spend more time on commerce-driven platforms, they’re more likely to fall victim to manipulative marketing tactics that drive impulse buying. 

What makes these digital products so addictive? Many apps use design strategies called attention capture damaging patterns (ACDPs) that prey on users’ cognitive vulnerabilities to control their attention.⁵ ACDPs maximize engagement with variable reinforcement models that trigger compulsive usage of digital products, often causing users to lose track of their sense of time and control while distracting them from their goals. Some common examples of ACDPs include infinite scroll, ads disguised as user-generated content, and videos that auto-play. Sound familiar? 

Variable reinforcement, as used by these ACDPs, is known to promote habit formation because it keeps rewards unpredictable. This motivates users to engage in repetitive behavior in anticipation of a possible reward. In the case of digital platforms like shopping sites or social media apps, each scroll releases small dopamine hits for the user, generating a sense of excitement over the possibility of seeing something unique or fun.⁶ This is the same engagement strategy behind casino-style “pull to refresh” features on digital platforms that occasionally reward users with new content or products.

ACDPs also leverage the psychological principle of hyperbolic discounting, or our inclination to choose smaller immediate rewards over larger future rewards. By keeping users focused on the immediate gratification that comes with seeing new content or buying new products, digital platforms encourage users to overlook long-term goals like saving money or spending less time online. 

Many users are aware that these habits are compulsive, but the addictive nature of digital products overwhelms their self-control. Some users report silencing their phones, turning off notifications, or even uninstalling apps so they can avoid getting trapped in compulsive usage loops, but this isn’t always effective.⁴ Variable reinforcement schedules make behaviors resistant to extinction, meaning that the behavior tends to continue even after the rewards stop coming.⁶ This is why users often feel pulled back into compulsion loops after taking a break. As a result, many users wish that platforms incorporated friction points to help them moderate their online interactions in real-time.⁴

Behavioral science suggests that introducing deliberate friction points into digital experiences can help disrupt repetitive usage patterns, allowing users to regain their control.⁶ These platform-level features might be as simple as removing the ability for users to scroll infinitely or continuously refresh. Without ACDPs that allow for compulsive use, users naturally encounter points of friction when they reach the bottom of a page or run out of new content to view. Let’s take a look at some additional friction points that can encourage mindful use.

Micro-Boundaries Allow for Moments of Reflection

Some researchers recommend introducing boundaries and “internet speed bumps” to create intentional barriers to accessing and moving between digital products.⁴ Micro-boundaries—small obstacles that prevent people from rushing between different contexts like work and personal life—are typically put in place directly by users. For instance, many people turn off work notifications after hours, intentionally disrupting their digital usage.

Similar micro-boundaries could be introduced by platforms to encourage users to pause between online activities, giving them a chance to reflect on their goals. For example, a shopping app could display a gentle pause screen when a user reopens the app after a period of inactivity, prompting them with a reflective message like “Are you looking for something specific today?” This could be an excellent opportunity to interrupt automatic browsing habits and encourage goal-driven shopping behavior. Similarly, shopping platforms can introduce moments of reflection that mirror Instagram’s “You’re All Caught Up” message, prompting shoppers to pause before continuing to browse. 

External Interventions Can Combat Attention Hijacking

These speed bumps don’t just have to come from e-commerce brands or social media platforms. External tools, such as browser extensions, provide additional evidence for how this approach can reduce the compulsive use of digital products. In a recent study, participants using Purpose Mode—a browser extension that toggles off ACDPs like website notifications—reported feeling distracted just 7% of the time, down from 21%. They also spent 21 fewer daily minutes browsing social media websites and reported feeling more in control and less irritated.⁵ 

While implementing strategies to reduce engagement might seem like a step backward for brands, giving users a greater sense of control over their browsing and shopping habits can actually be good for business. Many users express a desire for interventions that intentionally moderate their digital interactions and support more meaningful purchasing.⁴ As such, platforms that get on board can differentiate themselves in a crowded market and build stronger customer trust.

While adding friction points to online platforms can encourage users to pause and reflect before hopping into purchase funnels, this is only one piece of the puzzle. Even when users make the intentional decision to visit an e-commerce store, these environments are often designed to rush customers into decisions. Design features that create a sense of urgency and scarcity can override intentional purchasing and make customers more vulnerable to marketing cues.

Websites Frequently Exploit Scarcity Bias and Loss Aversion

In one study, 69% of top retail websites were found using strategies that increase the buyer’s sense of urgency, such as limited-time discounts and countdown clocks.⁷ Similarly, 67% of websites made products seem more scarce with low stock warnings or “exclusive” item offers. In a follow-up survey, shoppers expressed that they often end up buying items they’re still on the fence about solely because of these design features.⁷ 

These consumer experiences are fairly common. Research shows that urgency-driven scarcity can make products appear more desirable to consumers, increasing the likelihood of impulse purchases and reducing the shopper’s ability to make deliberate decisions.⁸ One of the primary psychological mechanisms behind the scarcity effect is loss aversion, a bias that reflects our tendency to experience losses more intensely than the pleasure of an equivalent gain. When it comes to shopping, consumers are highly motivated to avoid losing an opportunity, like missing out on a sale or limited-time product.

Urgency Overrides Rational Decision-Making Processes

UX design that promotes fast shopping further amplifies other cognitive biases by overriding users’ sense of self-control. Some researchers have examined this phenomenon through the lens of the elaboration likelihood model (ELM), a model of persuasion that suggests there are two ways we can respond to persuasive messaging: a central route and a peripheral route. The central route involves evaluating the logic of the message—like actual product specs or features—while the peripheral route involves relying on superficial cues, like attractive images or catchy slogans. 

When we are distracted, overwhelmed, or rushed to make decisions quickly, we are more likely to take the peripheral route when confronted with marketing messages or flashy product pages. The result? We end up making purchase decisions based on peripheral cues that exploit our cognitive biases.⁸ For instance, many websites leverage the salience bias to draw our attention to highly visible cues—think bright “Buy now” buttons that draw your eyes away from price information. Others rely on defaults to encourage users to stick with pre-selected upgrades or ongoing subscriptions. What’s more, scarcity or urgency messaging is often the first thing shoppers see when landing on an e-commerce site, so they’re likely to anchor their perception of the product’s value to its perceived rarity rather than its actual attributes.⁸ 

Again, customers largely welcome tools to help them avoid these tactics.⁷ While urgency and scarcity might have short-term benefits for increasing sales, research reveals negative long-term impacts on customer loyalty, brand trust, and post-purchase regret.⁸ With this in mind, let’s look at a few ways to slow down e-commerce and help buyers make more intentional decisions.

Shoppers are more likely to engage in central route processing when they have the time and attention to do so.⁸ By slowing down e-commerce experiences, brands can encourage more intentional buying decisions over impulsive shopping driven by scarcity, loss aversion, and other related biases. Slow UX is an emerging trend where the goal is to reduce the sense of urgency that consumers experience when shopping online.¹⁰ 

Note that this doesn’t mean slowing down every element of the customer journey so that it creates frustration for the user. Rather, it’s about removing the pressure to rush. Think of it like seating diners at a table and giving them time to look over a menu instead of rushing them through a drive-through. Instead of pushing site visitors from point A to B as quickly as possible, slow UX attempts to create high-quality customer engagement by giving consumers the time and space to think through their choices.

Minimalist Design and Gentle Nudges Can Reduce Urgency

Clean design is a crucial feature of slow UX.¹⁰ Since cluttered interfaces increase feelings of overwhelm and urgency, minimizing distractions with simple designs can help reduce information overload, helping shoppers focus on meaningful product information and make smarter decisions. 

Another way to slow down shopping involves using gentle nudges rather than urgency prompts. For example, instead of flashy buttons intended to move shoppers through checkout quickly, a gentle nudge message could prompt shoppers to review their cart. Some shoppers suggest that prompting questions that promote reflection could be valuable for encouraging deliberate purchasing.⁷ While brands might not want to directly discourage sales, messages that slow the shopping experience can still add value to the purchase journey. Some examples might include: “Take a moment to read these customer reviews to see if this product is the right fit for you” or “No rush. We’ll save your cart if you need a moment to think about it.” 

Prioritize Long-Term Engagement Over Short-Term Sales

Most importantly, slow UX aims to deliver value to the user rather than maximizing superficial engagement metrics like quick conversions. This is key to creating intentional shopping experiences that result in long-term customer engagement, where people feel good about their interactions with a brand.¹⁰ 

Recently, some shopping platforms have started embracing this shift. Etsy recently refined its search and navigation features, giving up a focus on low prices and fast conversions in favor of creating an online environment that facilitates discovery and inspiration.¹¹ Instead of pushing product sales, Etsy is trying to create a “window shopping” experience where users can browse, explore, and discover high-quality products that align with their interests and hobbies. CEO Josh Silverman acknowledges that the changes come with massive upfront costs in lost sales, but projects that the benefits will soon pay off with improved long-term performance.

Making improvements to e-commerce websites and shopping platforms can help reduce impulse buying driven by habitual scrolling or scarcity marketing, but there’s also an important social component to consider. In a 2023 survey of social media users, 48% had impulsively purchased a product they saw on social media—and 68% regretted at least one of their purchases.¹² Here’s a closer look at some of the mechanisms behind impulse shopping that starts on social media.

Social Trends Drive Impulse Purchases

Social media primes users to make emotionally driven decisions that are less about buying what they need and more about keeping up with the crowd. Thanks to the bandwagon effect, social media users are more likely to buy trendy products just because many other people are buying the same thing.¹³ Whether it’s social proof—where consumers turn to others to determine if they’re making the right decision—or content that induces FOMO, social media is the ultimate promoter of impulse buying.

Social Media Encourages Shopping Just for Fun

Social media also appears to play an important role in driving hedonic shopping behavior, or shopping primarily for the sake of fun and enjoyment over utility.¹⁴ Consider how “retail therapy” is often glorified on social media as a way to cope with negative feelings. When enough users model hedonic shopping, the act of buying things just to feel better becomes normalized. This is evident in research showing hedonic shopping motivation has a significant effect on impulse buying, especially among millennials and Gen Zers.¹⁴ 

Despite these influences, there is emerging evidence that users are growing tired of social media posts pushing consumerism down their throats. A recent survey found that people predominantly don’t like feeling socially pressured to buy products or subscribe to digital services like streaming platforms.⁴ Similarly, the trend toward de-influencing—where social media influencers urge people not to buy certain products—highlights a growing disinterest in meaningless consumption.¹⁵

Fortunately, social media doesn’t have to be used to promote impulse buying. Social platforms are fantastic for amplifying awareness about sustainable purchasing, ethical production, and mindful shopping. Let’s explore a few opportunities for brands that want to leverage social media to build credibility and long-term engagement.

Many social media users have a love-hate relationship with social platforms; they love the ability to engage in meaningful interactions but dislike the sheer volume of offers and social pressure to keep up with everyone else.⁴ This highlights a key opportunity for brands to repurpose social media as a platform to encourage meaningful discussions rather than pushy selling, opening the door to new content formats that better align with consumer values.

Focus on Narrative Storytelling Over Selling

Narrative storytelling is a content strategy that involves creating relatable stories to connect with consumers. Instead of directly selling products, this involves using stories to communicate brand values, highlight relationships with other brands, share customer experiences, and give consumers a sneak peek behind the scenes. A storytelling social media approach can be incredibly effective at forging long-term customer engagement. In fact, research shows that connecting with users’ emotional needs and providing informational content is far better for driving engagement than simply posting about deals.¹⁶

Behavioral science tells us that narratives can play a very important role in decision-making. Stories are structurally similar to the way people process information throughout daily life, allowing people to form judgments by identifying patterns and connecting information.¹⁷ Because it’s easy to understand, storytelling has been found to promote engagement, facilitate better information recall, and foster consumer trust. It’s also great for creating new behavioral norms around mindful consumption.

Encourage Community-Led Discussions

Social media provides yet another opportunity for brands to encourage mindful shopping behaviors: community-led discussions. On social media—where social proof has a strong influence on decision-making—encouraging users to share their honest experiences can help others decide whether or not a product is right for them. These authentic stories can help counteract affective forecasting, where shoppers tend to overestimate the amount of joy they’ll experience from a new purchase.

Importantly, there is still a place for influencer marketing to drive community discussions and build brand credibility. However, brands must work with influencers that genuinely use their products and align with their values. This is key to creating authentic influencer endorsements that connect with target consumers—rather than encouraging trend chasing. Selecting honest influencers also takes advantage of the messenger effect, where people evaluate information based on who is delivering this information. When the messenger is trustworthy, credible, or aligned with the values of the viewer, their message is more likely to resonate than when it comes from an influencer who promotes anything and everything.

Repurposing behavioral design to empower consumers can drive smarter, more intentional purchases. But even though this shift can have a positive impact on brand image and customer loyalty, getting companies on board can be tough. Encouraging meaningful buying over mindless consumption can easily look like a potential threat to revenue streams. After all, the benefits of moving from fast sales to long-term customer relationship building can take a while to reflect in business performance, especially when brands prioritize metrics like conversion rates or cost-per-acquisition. Product teams must be prepared for a potential dip in immediate returns when shifting to a focus on long-term longevity over next-quarter profits. 

There are also some important ethical questions to consider when using behavioral design to alter purchase behavior. Are we giving consumers enough information and freedom to make their own choices? Are users aware of the use of nudges? Would they object to techniques if they understood how they worked? Whether implemented by e-commerce sites, social media platforms, or third-party apps, behavioral design interventions can sometimes be seen as exploitative, even when they are intended to help. 

When it comes to influencing consumer behavior, there’s a fine line between motivating users to make better choices for themselves and manipulating them to make decisions that are good for the brand. Ultimately, designing for smarter purchases requires brands to balance their business goals with what’s best for the buyer, and this can take some trial and error to get right.

As e-commerce consumers grow increasingly wary of digital platforms hijacking their attention, promoting fast shopping, and exploiting social norms, there are several opportunities for brands to generate long-term loyalty by encouraging slower, more intentional purchasing. These interventions don’t have to be complicated to be effective. By intentionally introducing friction points to digital products, prioritizing slow design on e-commerce stores, and repurposing social media to build brand communities instead of pushing sales, we can help consumers regain their control.

When enough product teams get involved in helping consumers make smarter shopping choices, these interventions stand to have a much larger impact, reducing the environmental and social consequences of unnecessary consumerism on a global scale. To ensure the uptake of these positive trends, we need greater regulation governing manipulative techniques. Some countries have already introduced regulations in this area, such as the EU’s Digital Services Act, which addresses dark patterns, and the Canadian Competition Act, which imposes penalties on deceptive tactics like fake urgency cues. However, the efficacy of these laws is under debate, as brands often skirt consumer protection laws with unethical practices that are not explicitly regulated.² What’s needed is a shared commitment across brands, digital platforms, and regulatory bodies to establish and normalize ethical practices for promoting smart consumer purchases.

Insights from behavioral science can make it easier to achieve this ambitious goal. At The Decision Lab, we have robust experience applying behavioral science at the intersection of consumer behavior and digital product design to create user journeys that align with consumer values and support business goals. Contact us today to reshape online shopping environments and encourage smarter, less impulsive buying decisions.

This is Personal: The Do's and Don'ts of Personalization in Tech

Most tech companies rely on personalization to engage users and create curated experiences that feel easier and more intuitive. This article explores the fine line between delivering helpful personalization and annoying users with personalized suggestions that don’t quite fit the bill—or even creeping them out with insensitive personalizations that hit too close to home.

Nudging Consumers Towards Big-Picture Thinking

Impulse buying is largely driven by our desire for instant gratification, but humans possess a unique ability to delay gratification in favor of a larger reward in the future. In this article, we explore the imperfect nature of self-control and how marketers can help consumers keep an eye on the big picture when making purchase decisions.

1. Pellegrino, A., Abe, M., & Shannon, R. (2022). The Dark Side of Social Media: Content Effects on the Relationship Between Materialism and Consumption Behaviors. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 870614. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.870614 
2. Singh, V., Vishvakarma, N. K., & Kumar, V. (2024). Unveiling Digital Manipulation and Persuasion in e-Commerce: A Systematic Literature Review of Dark Patterns and Digital Nudging. Journal of Internet Commerce, 23(2), 144–171. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332861.2024.2330813 
3. Marquis, C. (2024, April 9). What happens to modern business when consumers stop consuming? Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/christophermarquis/2024/04/09/what-happens-to-modern-business-when-consumers-stop-consuming/ 
4. Widdicks, K., Remy, C., Bates, O., Friday, A., & Hazas, M. (2022). Escaping unsustainable digital interactions: Toward “more meaningful” and “moderate” online experiences. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 165, 102853. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2022.102853
5. Lee, H. P., Chiang, Y. S., Gao, L., Yang, S., Winter, P., & Das, S. (2025). Purpose Mode: Reducing Distraction Through Toggling Attention Capture Damaging Patterns on Social Media Websites. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 32(1), 1-41 https://doi.org/10.1145/3711841 
6. Sharpe, B., & Spooner, R. (2025). Dopamine-scrolling: A modern public health challenge requiring urgent attention. Perspectives in Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1177/17579139251331914
7. Thomas, L. (2019, April 24). Online retailer tactics and impulse buying: Consumers welcome tools to avoid it. The Regents of the University of Michigan. https://news.umich.edu/online-retailer-tactics-and-impulse-buying-consumers-welcome-tools-to-avoid-it/ 
8. Mirela D. Zamfir. (2024). Scarcity Effect and Consumer Decision Biases: How Urgency Influences the Perceived Value of Products. Journal of World Economy, 3(4), 27-34. https://www.pioneerpublisher.com/jwe/article/view/1095 
9. Maheshwari, H. (2020). Mindfulness: Helps Curb Impulsive Buying Through Improving Self Control. Journal of Modern Accounting and Auditing, 16(9), 415-430. doi: 10.17265/1548-6583/2020.09.004 
10. Royal, H. (2024, October 15). Designing for slow UX: Encouraging mindful, deliberate interactions. Medium. https://medium.com/@iharsharoyal/designing-for-slow-ux-encouraging-mindful-deliberate-interactions-b1ff1141250a 
11. Wassel, B. (2025, February 19). Etsy refines search experience for ‘people that don’t speak merch’. Marketing Dive. https://www.marketingdive.com/news/etsy-search-experience-app-personalization-discovery/740527/ 
12. Gillespie, L., & Rubloff, T. (2023, September 18). Survey: 48% of social media users have impulsively purchased a product seen on social media. Bankrate. https://www.bankrate.com/personal-finance/social-media-survey/ 
13. Anantharaman, R., Prashar, S., & Vijay, T. S. (2022). Uncovering the role of consumer trust and bandwagon effect influencing purchase intention: an empirical investigation in social commerce platforms. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 31(6), 1199–1219. https://doi.org/10.1080/0965254X.2022.2070526 
14. Deborah, I., Oesman, Y. M., & Yudha, R. T. B. . (2022). Social media and impulse buying behavior: The role of hedonic shopping motivation and shopping orientation. Jurnal Manajemen Maranatha, 22(1), 65–82. https://doi.org/10.28932/jmm.v22i1.5450 
15. Mailchimp. (n.d.). The power of deinfluencing: Redefining marketing for savvy marketers. https://mailchimp.com/resources/what-is-deinfluencing/ 
16. Liadeli, G., Sotgiu, F., & Verlegh, P. W. J. (2022). A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Brands’ Owned Social Media on Social Media Engagement and Sales. Journal of Marketing, 87(3), 406-427. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222429221123250 
17. Adaval, R., & Wyer, R. S. (1998). The Role of Narratives in Consumer Information Processing. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 7(3), 207-245. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327663jcp0703_01