Acquiring a new customer is anywhere from five to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one. This is because attracting new customers often involves significant marketing, sales efforts, and onboarding, whereas retaining existing ones can be more cost-effective by focusing on customer satisfaction and ongoing value.
Emma, the money management app, offers several notable cancellation journey features, but a few dark UX patterns creep in. In this blog, the slideshow demonstrates cancelling a paid plan to downgrading to the free version of an Emma account and a discussion of key takeaways and a hot topic below it.
Hot Takeaways
1. The first slideshow page shows how hard it was for users to find the cancel button, with confusing CTAs and poor accessibility, harming the user experience. In summary, users had to click through three CTAs and a 10-page flow, clearly designed to exhaust and deter them from canceling.
2. Fitts’ law refers to the time it takes to move a pointer to a target, and colour can impact this, especially if it’s light or camouflaged. Bold, bright CTAs are easy to find and encourage immediate clicks to the next action, but in the slideshow, they mislead users by directing them to unrelated actions, such as exploring plans or seeking support. In contrast, softer, passive colours guide the user through the intended flow, which is the opposite of what they expect.
3. On page 5, we see loss aversion at play. Loss Aversion is a psychological theory where people prefer avoiding losses over gaining equivalent rewards. This UX strategy effectively retains the user without compromising integrity, while leveraging psychology, it remains transparent. The user is clearly informed about what they’re losing, with no deception.
4. On pages 6 and 7, Emma offers a compelling 50% discount, but the 70% offer feels desperate.
Hot Topic – What is dark patterns in UX?
Dark patterns in UX subtly manipulate users into actions that benefit the company, often through deception. This could be paying more for a service, subscribing to unwanted services, sharing data, or agreeing to unclear terms. These patterns are unethical, exploit human psychology, and can harm a brand’s reputation. Emma’s cancellation flow uses many dark patterns, from burying sections to misdirecting CTAs and emotional wordplay, casting a negative light on the brand.
