When returning an item to Amazon, the UI for selecting your refund option is a dark pattern. For obvious reasons, Amazon has created a UI that makes it difficult to get your purchase refunded to your credit card, preferring that you exchange for another item or receive a gift card balance.
This is the UI that you’re presented with when opting to return an item that you no longer need:
The average customer would probably only notice two options because the UI only has two radio buttons, both styled with black text. We’ve been trained for decades to know that a radio button means a choice. No radio button, no choice.
Only if you look closely will you see a third option — Refund to Visa. Not only is it missing a radio button, but it’s styled like a blue hyperlink. It’s literally disguising itself as a help button that opens another page. Even if you spot this option, you might not even want to try clicking it because it looks like more work. The other two options are there and ready to be clicked. This one looks like it could be way more clicks.
If you are lucky enough to spot the Refund to Visa option and select it, the dark pattern actually reveals itself and it’s actually restyled with a radio button and black text to match the other two options. At this point, you can switch between any of the three options and the dark pattern never returns.
Come on, Amazon. Is this really customer obsession?
