In an era of information overload and endless choices, brands face a significant challenge: how to stand out and guide consumers toward their products without overwhelming them? For this we can look to behavioural science and a concept known as ‘nudging’.
What is nudging and why do I need to know about it?
Put simply, it’s the art of subtle influencing at various points on the purchasing journey, steering people towards your brand like it was all entirely their choice…except it wasn’t. They were nudged.
Nudging in action
Brands have embraced nudging techniques as a powerful tool to influence consumer behaviour. Here’s our take on how brands are cleverly using some common types of nudges,
- Defaults: These are pre-set choices that people stick with unless they work to actively change them. Brands often use this tactic to streamline decision-making and make customers ‘stickier’. Many subscription services, such as Netflix or Disney+, automatically renew memberships unless the user opts out. The default renewal ensures continuity and reduces the likelihood of churn.
- Social Proof: Humans are social creatures and often look to others for cues about what to do. E-commerce websites like Amazon highlight customer reviews and ratings to build trust and encourage purchases. Phrases like “Trending Now” also leverage social proof to nudge consumers. Spotify Wrapped also does a great job of encouraging sharing personal listening stats, leveraging FOMO and social proof to increase engagement.
- Anchoring: involves setting a reference point that influences how people perceive value. For example, displaying a “discounted price” alongside the original price (e.g., “£199, now £99”) makes the deal seem more attractive. This anchor shifts perceptions of what constitutes a fair price and is more likely to go into the basket as a result.
- Gamification: Incorporating game-like elements can make choices more engaging and rewarding. Loyalty programs, points systems, and leaderboards are all examples of gamification nudges. Monzo’s latest 1p saving challenge is a great example; saving incrementally each day starting from 1p each day, with over £667.95 saved by the end of 2025. It gamifies the process and makes it feel significantly more achievable and attainable to the customer as the amounts are so small and increase gradually over time. Savings made simple.
- Personalisation: It is no secret that consumers like to feel like an individual and to be understood. Brands that deliver personalisation often see an uplift in engagement and loyalty. Netflix effectively delivers personalisation by recommending shows and movies based on viewing habits, reducing decision fatigue and increasing watch time. Coca Cola offers cans with people’s names on them, connecting with people on a deeper level and increasing talkability and social proof.
- Habit formation encouraging repetitive, easy-to-follow tasks helps to embed products into consumer routines. Starbucks’ rewards program nudges customers to visit frequently to earn free drinks, turning occasional purchases into habits. Fitbit sends hourly reminders to move, DuoLingo sends daily reminders to continue your streak, embedding them firmly into customer lives and daily routines.
Pitfalls to Avoid When Nudging Consumers
While nudging can be really effective, brands must tread carefully to avoid alienating their audience – it can easily backfire if you take it too far;
- Manipulation: Nudges should empower consumers, not take advantage of them. Overly aggressive tactics that manipulate emotions or create undue pressure can backfire and erode trust. For example, excessive use of pop-ups or deceptive urgency timers can frustrate users and the nudge becomes a shove in the opposite direction away from the brand.
- Lack of Transparency: Consumers value honesty. Sneaky hidden fees or unclear terms can lead to distrust. We see this sometimes with Airlines that add unexpected costs during checkout risk losing loyal customers due to perceived dishonesty – transparency is key to customers making that informed choice.
- Overcomplication: Trying to nudge too much can overwhelm consumers. Bombarding them with multiple nudges at once dilutes the impact. Over-use of nudging can confuse consumers instead of convincing them, leading to abandoned purchases. Getting the balance right across the journey is important.
How can research help understand nudging in your path to purchase:
As we can see nudging can be a powerful technique to use to encourage customers to take action. But there’s an art to nudging and it can very quickly go the wrong way for customers if overdone – customer journey mapping, comms testing and path to purchase research can all help to uncover where the key nudging points should be in a customer journey, as well as understand the right tone to strike that will drive action towards your brand not away from it. Give us a shout on hello@sparkmr.com if you want to understand if your nudges are working to drive the right behaviours for your brand.
