Beware, Amazon customers: your purchase may become a recurring delivery every month

For some customers, the default Amazon shopping option has been changed to “Subscribe and Save” for some specific products, which may lead to unwanted repeat deliveries. This option offers discounts, but if not checked carefully, it could be mistaken for a one-time purchase.

Before making a purchase on Amazon, carefully watch the Buy Now and Subscribe Now buttons (representative image)

Amazon allows its customers to save on products by subscribing to a recurring monthly delivery. The available delivery options usually range from one month to six months. The subscription system is a convenient way to receive deliveries of items that need to be ordered regularly.

However, the e-commerce platform has been found to offer this as a default purchase option for some customers. This means that if you are not careful during the purchasing process, you could end up receiving deliveries of the same product month after month.

Be careful

The default purchase option for any item on Amazon was “One-time Purchase,” which was accompanied by “Add to Cart” and “Buy Now” buttons. The “Subscribe & Save” button option is right below the “One-time Purchase” option. It usually offers a 5% discount compared to the other purchase method and a 10-15% discount depending on the quantity and number of months of subscription. This purchase option does not have any “Add to Cart” or “Buy Now” button, but does display a “Subscribe Now” button.

Because the distinction is so obvious, it’s very unlikely that an informed buyer won’t notice if you’re purchasing a product on a one-off basis or using monthly deliveries. However, if you’re in a hurry or aren’t paying attention, it’s possible to mistakenly subscribe when the option is offered by default. Either way, it’s undoubtedly irritating.

“Subscribe & Save” purchase option set by default on Amazon

During our testing, the default option for products and customers kept changing. In my case, the default method was switched to “Subscribe and Save” only for items like toilet paper rolls. In the meantime, he switched to other products such as apple cider vinegar.

Bait and exploit

Changing the default purchase option is nothing new. A Reddit post from four years ago discussed the same change on Amazon US. Users in the comments agreed that they had seen the default toggle and criticized the move. One user said her grandmother had been “tricked” into signing up for a product subscription that had her buying the same lotion for three months in a row. She then told the user she could get the stuff “for free,” after which he canceled the subscription and had Amazon issue two refunds.

One-time purchase option set by default on Amazon

Meanwhile, others have explained an exploit where you can simply sign up for a delivery to take advantage of the extra 5% discount, then cancel future deliveries once you receive the product. One user even noted that “Subscribe & Save” is not a contract, but simply a delivery date. It’s worth noting that Amazon clearly states that you can cancel your subscription at any time. It even claims to remind customers before each delivery.

Amazon automatically selects the subscription option when you try to purchase a single item, hoping you won’t notice.
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Business-friendly interface designs

Online businesses often opt for designs that benefit them. An extreme version of this phenomenon is called Dark Patterns, which are defined as deceptive design elements and design tactics that trick users into making unintended decisions. This makes it easy to subscribe to a service, but extremely difficult to unsubscribe. Changing the default shopping method on Amazon from “one-time purchase” to “Subscribe & Save” falls close to the scope of such patterns.