As discussions on modernising the European Union’s consumer laws (together with initiatives such as the announced Digital Fairness Act) continue to evolve, understanding how people experience online personalisation and deceptive design has never been more important.
A recent survey of 10,500 Europeans across 12 countries mapped consumers’ perceptions of the benefits of online personalisation, as well as their experiences with dark patterns.
The interactive dashboard on this page visualises the key findings of that consumer survey, letting you explore insights by country, age, income bracket, and internet usage intensity.
It highlights consumer experiences across e-commerce, social media, travel, education, and financial services. The survey also reveals how Europeans fight deceptive online practices, including dark patterns (which are design tricks that encourage users into taking actions they may not intend to take, such as making purchases, signing up for services, or sharing data).
Visualisation by country, internet use, age, and income
(Use the arrows at the bottom of the dashboard to navigate between the eight interactive pages with findings.)
Key findings
- While dark patterns exist, they are not widespread
- Over 70% of Europeans have encountered dark patterns in certain parts of the online ecosystem, like travel booking or marketplaces for clothing.
- Two thirds of Europeans who have experienced dark patterns, say they only experience them on a few online services within a given industry.
- Consumers are digitally savvy and take action
- 80% stop buying from brands that use deceptive designs.
- Many unsubscribe from emails, disable cookies, or leave negative reviews.
- Most European consumers feel that their actions effectively resolved the issue.
- Positive trends are emerging online
- Online services are becoming more transparent and fair, and consumers appreciate this.
- Easy unsubscribe buttons and clear explanations of data use are increasingly observed by consumers.
- Industry-led efforts appear to be building consumer trust.
- Personalisation is a key driver of consumer value
- Most consumers understand that their data is used to provide personalised services; only 24% oppose it.
- Personalisation saves time and improves the user experience.
- Over 70% of Europeans find personalised services, such as streaming platforms and online marketplaces, useful or extremely useful.
The survey indicates that European consumers are generally aware of both the benefits and risks of online personalisation, and tend to reward brands that act fairly.
This indicates that the European Union’s current regulatory framework already effectively protects consumers in their online interactions, while allowing businesses to innovate and offer useful services.
The survey was conducted by Nextrade and commissioned by the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA Europe).
