Dark Patterns in Indian Quick Commerce Apps: A Student Perspective

2026-04-02

AI Summary

This study investigates how manipulative dark patterns in Indian quick-commerce applications drive increased spending among digitally literate yet economically constrained university students, even when they are aware of being manipulated, particularly under conditions of cognitive load and time pressure. Through semi-structured in-depth interviews with 16 Indian university students and thematic analysis grounded in human-computer interaction and consumer behavior theories, this work offers the first focused examination of young users in the Global South, uncovering how dark patterns operate within specific socioeconomic contexts. Findings reveal that although participants could recognize manipulative designs, they often failed to resist them due to cognitive overload and tacit acceptance of such practices as commercial norms. The study proposes a context-sensitive design approach that balances business interests with user autonomy while aligning with local values.

Technology Category

• Application Domains: Humanities & Computational Social Science
• Humans and AI: User Experience and Usability
• Game Theory and Economic Paradigms: Mechanism Design

Application Category

• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: The sharing economy
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Accountability, Transparency, and Ethics for personalization
• Responsible Web: Consent frameworks and practices on the web

Abstract

As quick commerce (Q-Commerce) platforms in India redefine urban consumption, the use of deceptive design dark patterns to inflate order values has become a systemic concern. This paper investigates the 'Awareness-Action Gap' among Indian university students, a demographic characterized by high digital fluency yet significant financial constraints. Using a qualitative approach with 16 participants, we explore how temporal pressures and convenience-driven architectures override price sensitivity. Our findings reveal that while students recognize manipulative UI tactics, they frequently succumb to them due to induced cognitive load and the normalization of deceptive marketing as a price of capitalism. We conclude by suggesting value-sensitive design alternatives to align commercial incentives with user autonomy in the Global South.

Problem

• dark patterns
• quick commerce
• awareness-action gap
• deceptive design
• user autonomy

Innovation

• dark patterns
• quick commerce
• awareness-action gap
• value-sensitive design
• cognitive load