Multiple complaints have been filed in FTC against the same and the use of so-called “dark patterns’ led to the investigation of Amazon Prime’s cancellation process. The Norwegian Consumer Counsel alleged in January 2021 that Amazon has manipulated the words and graphic design to increase the complications, making the process needlessly frustrating and difficult.
Amazon used sneaky tactics to intentionally harden the process of cancelling prime membership. It used a project named ‘Iliad’ and the cancellations dropped down to 14% according to leaked data. The project created various layers of questions and new offers.
These layers pop up before a prime member could cancel their membership. Amazon hopes it would reduce their rate of cancellation. After the project was launched, the number of cancellations dropped down by 14% at a certain point in 2017 due to difficulty in finding the cancellation page.
The multi-step cancellation process, a part of which still remains active today, is one example of subtle UX design choices Amazon has used to complicate and confuse Prime’s subscription and cancellation processes.
In an email exchange, Amazon’s spokesperson said the sign-up and cancellation processes for Prime are “simple and transparent and clearly present customers with choices and the implications of those choices.”
How to cancel the Prime subscription
The multi-step process isn’t as hard as the 500-page Greek poem that gives it the epic Iliad namesake. Cancelling the Prime subscription takes multiple clicks, confirmations and decisions. One can find the “end membership” button under the “manage membership” tab, leading to a series of prompts and offers.
The first prompt remarks “Don’t give up on movie night” and flags to tell customers how many days are left until the next billing cycle. The next prompt lets customers know how much money they would save by switching from a monthly to an annual payment plan.
Starting from February 18, Amazon’s annual Prime membership fee increased from $119 to $139 and the monthly fees increased from $12.99 to $14.99.
The last prompt asks the customers to confirm their membership cancellation. There are three yellow buttons on the page. They offer to pause or keep the membership or remind them later. Furthermore, there are 2 more yellow buttons that list different options of when to cancel the subscription plan.
Amazon, similar to many other subscription companies, intentionally made and continue to make it harder to quit Prime as they want to dominate the market. According to Dennis Green, a netizen- it took 4 confirmations to end the subscription and it does not include the clicks used to navigate the page on the website itself.
Customers may possibly assume they have already cancelled after they click “end my membership.” This is similar to the cart abandonment phenomenon, where customers add things to their online shopping cart and neglect to check out.
A lot of customers may just throw up their hands and accept that they paid for a membership for the next month or year because of the first prompt. It’s not surprising why Amazon would make it as difficult as possible to quit Prime. The membership is Amazon’s jewel, and the customers are far more valuable than any regular Amazon shopper.
Published by: Shivani bhalke
Edited by: Subbuthai Padma
