74% of Indian shoppers willing to pay more for trusted platforms: Datum Intelligence

Trust is increasingly becoming a competitive advantage in India's fast-growing digital commerce sector, with 74% of online shoppers willing to pay more on platforms that demonstrate transparent and fair design practices, according to a report by Datum Intelligence.

The findings come as India's digital commerce market is projected to reach $350 billion, prompting e-commerce, quick commerce and travel platforms to invest more heavily in consumer protection, pricing transparency and trust-and-safety systems to strengthen customer loyalty and retention.

The report noted that consumers are becoming more conscious of so-called "dark patterns" — user interface designs that can influence purchasing decisions through tactics such as basket sneaking, false urgency, drip pricing, confirm shaming and subscription traps.

Platforms investing in transparency

According to Datum Intelligence, leading digital platforms are increasingly deploying technology and governance mechanisms to improve customer trust and reduce misleading purchase experiences.

"Companies like Flipkart and Zepto have made substantial investments in strengthening their tech ability to provide a smooth shopping experience to consumers," said Satish Meena, founder, Datum Intelligence.

"As one of India's largest homegrown platforms, Flipkart has focused on increasing its reach. The report also highlights while speed is important, players investing in trustworthy shopping experience would be the preferred shopping partner for Indian consumers," he added.

The report pointed toward examples across sectors, including AI-powered monitoring of purchase flows, improved pricing disclosures, stronger review verification systems and clearer subscription and renewal disclosures.

Dark patterns under growing scrutiny

The study identified several common dark-pattern practices consumers should watch for while shopping online, including products being added to carts without consent, countdown timers that create artificial urgency, hidden fees that appear only at checkout, guilt-inducing opt-out prompts and difficult subscription cancellation processes.

As regulatory scrutiny of digital platforms intensifies, companies are increasingly investing in compliance reviews, AI-driven monitoring tools and consumer-protection infrastructure to improve transparency and user experience, the report said.

The findings suggest that trust is no longer merely a governance issue but an increasingly important business metric, influencing customer acquisition, conversion rates and long-term platform loyalty as competition intensifies across India's digital commerce ecosystem.