Utilizing Economic Concepts in User Experience (UX) Design: A Study in Behavioural Economics
In the realm of user experience (UX) design, irrationality is no longer a mystery but a valuable tool to understand and cater to human behavior. Behavioral economics, a field that studies the irrational decisions people make and attempts to predict and understand them, is increasingly being applied to UX design.
One of the key principles of behavioral economics is the influence of choice on purchasing decisions. Mentioning a choice can subtly sway a person's decision without adopting a "salesy" approach. For instance, researchers have observed a phenomenon called "attribute priming" where talking about an attribute of a product before a purchasing decision can influence the customer's choice.
People's preferences are often based on perceived quality. A study on Hershey's Kisses and Lindt's Lindor Chocolate Truffles found that people overwhelmingly preferred the Lindor Truffles due to perceived quality. This phenomenon has also been observed with food choices.
Interestingly, human beings do not always act rationally, and irrationality can be predicted to some extent. Behavioural economics concluded that human beings do not always act rationally, and deviations from this were explained away by modifying equations.
In UX design, this understanding is being leveraged to create emotionally intelligent interfaces that cater to the users’ cognitive biases and emotional states. For example, simplifying checkout processes reduces cognitive load and abandonment rates in e-commerce, while personalized suggestions improve engagement and sales conversions.
Platforms like Netflix use personalized recommendations to excite users emotionally, and Amazon employs personalized deals to encourage purchasing behavior. In enterprise UX, tools like Slack reduce complexity to improve user efficacy and trust. Healthcare apps such as Calm utilize empathetic design with calming colors and animations to support users emotionally while delivering clinically accurate information.
Moreover, UX design aims to facilitate a positive "flow" experience where users become absorbed and delighted, aligning with principles from positive psychology emphasizing joy and seamless interaction.
Practical behavioral economics techniques in app design include using scarcity, social proof, and reward signals to influence behavior and keep users engaged. For example, offering fewer choices can help coax users into making decisions and purchases, as illustrated in the famous experiment where people bought ten times more jam from a table with 6 choices compared to a table with 24 choices due to decision paralysis.
The lesson for UX designers is that sometimes offering fewer choices can help coax users into making decisions and purchases. Human beings can only handle about 7 pieces of information at a time when making decisions.
In conclusion, behavioral economics provides a framework for designing user journeys that feel effortless, emotionally rewarding, and aligned with both user goals and business outcomes. By understanding and catering to human irrationalities, UX designers can create interfaces that are not only functional but also engaging and effective in influencing user behavior.
- UX design incorporates principles from behavioral economics, such as simplifying checkout processes, to reduce cognitive load and abandoned cart rates in e-commerce.
- In the realm of health-and-wellness apps, empathetic design with calming colors and animations, like in Calm, supports users emotionally while delivering clinically accurate information.
- Technology platforms, like Netflix and Amazon, use personalized recommendations and deals to emotionally engage users and encourage purchasing behavior.
- Education-and-self-development apps can leverage behavioral economics techniques, such as using reward signals and social proof, to keep users engaged in their learning journeys.
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