The Default Effect: How the power of defaults can transform your customer experience
“… Never underestimate the power of inertia.”
— Richard Thaler, “Nudge”
Are you enrolled in a retirement plan, 401k or pension? If your answer is “no” you might want to check again. It’s possible your company enrolled you automatically.
Why? Because automatic enrollment increases participation in retirement plans by nearly 40%.
It’s down to a powerful behavioral science mechanic called defaults.
What are defaults and why do they work?
Defaults are pre-set choices that take effect if a customer does nothing.
Studies have shown that people rarely change the default settings. Microsoft found that 95% of people kept all default settings, even for critical features like autosave.
When it comes to thinking, people are lazy. Defaults provide a mental shortcut and signal what we’re “supposed” to do in a given situation. Since defaults don’t require people to make any effort, they can be a simple but powerful design tool.
For example, Amazon’s default option is “Subscribe & Save”. It’s always pre-selected in the checkout area.
