The end of another trick that affects consumer behavior: The Consumer Protection and Fair Trade Authority has issued a directive that dealers will not be able to leave in digital forms a default that includes a surcharge for a transaction that involves a fee. This method, which has been shown to contribute to increasing sales, will no longer be possible, on the grounds that “this significantly impairs the consumer’s freedom of choice and constitutes an unfair effect.”
The unfair influence defined by the authority is supported by studies that prove that consumers tend to leave the first option offered to them, thus giving their consent to additional charges even without being aware of it. The term that explains consumer behavior is Default Effect, where the consumer must be active to cancel an add-on that is forced on him (even if the activity means a single push of a button).
For example, in the past, those who downloaded the Pango app were added by default to the company’s premium services, which involved an additional fee. The check box for the said add-on was marked “V”, and consumers who did not want it had to cancel the check on their own initiative. At present the company does not offer the add-on, however other businesses do.
According to Dr. Dalia Shillian, Chief Economist of the Consumer Protection and Fair Trade Authority, “Although the level of activity required of the consumer is minimal, the choice of whether to join a paid service should be in his hands. The guideline only applies to cases where the default leads to the purchase of a product. In fact, we are pouring further interpretation into a clause that prohibits unfair influence. “The directive will take effect in a month.
To understand the dimensions of the psychological impact, Shillian provides an example that is far from the world of consumerism, but teaches the habits of the public: “In Europe, an article was published that examined the public’s willingness to donate organs. “The response was about 80%. These large differences could not be attributed to a cultural or socio-economic aspect, but it turned out that in countries where the proportion of donors was high, there was a default choice for donation when renewing the driver’s license.”