Quick Commerce: When Speed Becomes a Trojan Horse for Dark Patterns

Shubham Sanghavi, Consultant, and Ketaki Nair, Associate Consultant at Avalon Consulting, authored their views on Quick Commerce: When Speed Becomes a Trojan Horse for Dark Patterns.

They highlighted how India’s rapidly growing q-commerce sector is increasingly relying on dark patterns such as hidden fees, basket sneaking, and differential pricing to protect margins. The article explains how rising consumer awareness and tighter regulatory scrutiny are making transparency and ethical design critical for building long-term trust and sustainable growth in quick commerce.

Quick Commerce: When Speed Becomes a Trojan Horse for Dark Patterns

India’s quick commerce (q-commerce) market, ushered in by the Covid-19 lockdowns, has experienced meteoric growth in the last few years. Indian digital commerce ecosystem has been transformed by a growing dependency on the ease and convenience of grocery delivery under 10 minutes.

By 2024, q-commerce accounted for over two-thirds of all e-grocery orders and nearly 10% of total e-retail spending1, 2. Dominated by players like Zepto, Blinkit (Zomato), and Swiggy Instamart (brands which are also drawing significant investor attention with valuations climbing into billions of dollars), the sector is poised to grow over 40% annually until 2030. But this breakneck expansion comes with a growing undercurrent of concern: the widespread use of dark patterns—manipulative interface designs that steer users into unintended or excessive purchases.

These tactics are no longer just user experience quirks. Since November 2023, India’s Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has formally categorized them as violations of the Consumer Protection Act, underscoring the regulatory and reputational risks they now pose to the industry.

Dark Patterns as a Systemic Feature

The Indian government’s Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns (Nov 2023) defined dark patterns as deceptive interface designs that impair consumer autonomy. Quick commerce platforms have displayed a broad range of these tactics, including:

The Economics Behind the Patterns

Quick commerce platforms are under constant pressure to boost margins in a hypercompetitive, low-margin sector.
Consider the revenue race; Zepto, Blinkit, and Swiggy are poised to collectively reach approximately $1.5 billion in revenue by FY25, yet profitability remains elusive, with their collective burn rate reaching around $70 million per month3, 4, 5, 6. The number of monthly transacting users expanded by over 40% in 2024, and the average number of monthly orders per customer rose from 4.4 orders in 2021  to 6 orders in 2024, but margin optimization has relied on pricing opacity7.

The use of dark patterns has therefore become a form of algorithmic arbitrage, through which user data and behavioural psychology are leveraged to inflate cart values subtly without overtly raising listed prices. Quick commerce companies further exploit this by using advanced data analytics to implement differential pricing based on user profiles, purchasing patterns, and perceived willingness to pay

Erosion of Consumer Trust

At the heart of dark patterns lies a behavioural arbitrage, wherein platforms exploit user psychology to increase conversion. This is usually without the user’s full awareness, but evidence now suggests that this arbitrage is closing.

Consumer awareness is growing. Studies show that users feel deceived by unexpected charges and continue with purchases compelled by a sunk-cost bias, not by satisfaction. Additionally, consumer forums and online communities are increasingly bringing examples of such deceitful tactics to attention. A Reddit group dedicated to tracking Zepto’s interface practices gained nearly 10,000 members in just five months. Frequent complaints include hidden charges such as “Rain Fees” or “item handling costs,” and wallet incentives that are difficult or impossible to redeem.

Notably, consumers on iPhones consistently face higher pricing than Android users, which is a form of device-based price segmentation. In early 2025, a Zepto user observed the following product prices:

Though still within legal limits as long as prices stay under the MRP, this kind of price variation often feels unfair to users. It’s especially noticeable to Gen Z consumers—early tech adopters who are vocal online and often shape public opinion about quick commerce platforms. A recent report by ASCI and Parallel HQ found that nearly all of India’s top apps—52 out of 53—use some form of dark pattern, with quick commerce apps showing more than five per app on average.

These tactics don’t just hurt how brands are perceived—they also weaken user trust. In categories like groceries and personal care, where people shop often and can easily switch to a competitor, this damage can directly impact user loyalty. Companies relying on such methods to drive short-term growth risk losing long-term customer engagement.

Short Term Wins vs. Long Term Sustainability

While dark patterns may spike short-term unit economics, they weaken customer lifetime value (CLV), especially in premium or loyalty-driven segments. This is particularly dangerous in India’s e-retail space, where discretionary spending is returning post-COVID, and Tier-2 and 3 cities are now fuelling incremental growth.

Rising Regulatory Scrutiny

India’s regulators are becoming more active and firm in their approach. Since the release of new rules in late 2023, the CCPA has sent 11 official notices for using misleading design tactics, along with over 400 notices for unfair business practices more broadly. In January 2025, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said that enforcement would grow stronger, especially during busy shopping seasons like festivals.

For platforms, dark patterns once offered a way to bridge thin margins with higher average revenue per user. But this rising scrutiny and regulatory risk compels platforms to reconsider their business models and their reliance on dark patterns. The value of transparent design and clear communication is growing, and competitive advantage is shifting from user exploitation to user empowerment.

The Trade-off of Growth vs Sustainability

Despite these challenges, the q-commerce opportunity remains substantial. In 2024, the sector’s GMV stood at approximately $6–7 billion and is expected to grow at over 40% annually through 2030. Still, growth in absolute numbers must be weighed against quality of growth. Platforms that continue to rely heavily on dark patterns may find themselves caught in a cycle of high churn and rising customer acquisition costs.

As platforms diversify beyond grocery into categories like apparel and electronics, consumers will expect more transparency and consistency. Interface manipulation that once seemed marginal may quickly become a core liability.

The more sustainable play lies not in hiding costs, manipulating defaults, or obscuring consent—but in making these elements front and centre. As users mature and regulators catch up, the new battleground in q-commerce may not be speed—but sincerity.

A Moment of Reckoning

Q-commerce’s promise—ultra-fast convenience—was supposed to reduce consumer friction. But when designed deceptively, speed becomes a Trojan Horse for manipulation. As platforms jostle for scale and profitability, Indian regulators and consumers are beginning to push back.

The industry’s next phase of evolution will not only be defined by logistics efficiency or capital investment, but by user trust and design ethics. Businesses that fail to adapt may find their fastest deliveries have also been the fastest path to reputational risk.