Startup Originals Team
In a candid interview with Forbes India, Zepto co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha admitted that the company had experimented with user interface “dark patterns” to influence consumer behaviour, an approach he now says was misguided. As he put it, “I’ll be candid: it was a mistake. We killed it. It won’t happen again.”
What Happened: Dark Patterns Experiment
- Zepto ran experiments on its app interface involving delivery-fee and pricing behaviour that drew significant negative feedback on social media.
- According to Palicha, the criticism wasn’t driven by regulators but by consumers themselves, signalling that the change didn’t align with Zepto’s customer-first aspiration. He said: “We just felt it wasn’t the right thing for consumers.”
- As part of the corrective action, Zepto removed or reversed the interface elements within ~45–60 days of receiving feedback. “We killed it,” he stated.
Why This Matters for Zepto & the Quick-Commerce Space:
Customer Trust at Stake
For a business built on rapid delivery and frequent repeat usage, trust and clarity in the user-experience are critical. Mis-steps in fee or interface transparency can erode long-term loyalty.
Regulation & Scrutiny
While Zepto’s decision was voluntary, it comes amid broader regulatory focus in India on “dark patterns”, design mechanisms that could mislead consumers.
Brand Leadership
As a high-growth player in India’s quick-commerce market, Zepto is under public and investor scrutiny. Palicha’s public admission signals accountability, but execution and consistency will matter going forward.
What’s Next: Strategic Focus at Zepto
- Customer-centricity: Palicha emphasised Zepto’s recommitment to being customer-centric: Zero experiments that undercut trust.
- Wallet-share & category expansion: With the dark-pattern episode behind it, Zepto is refocusing on unlocking deeper wallet-share from existing users by expanding into categories like apparel, electronics and lifestyle.
- Operational discipline: The company also signalled plans to build leaner operations, standardise transparency and align growth ambitions with sustainable business metrics.
Lessons for Other Consumer Platforms:
- User-interface experiments can yield short-term gains but threaten long-term trust if they undermine clarity or feel manipulative.
- Prompt reversal and public acknowledgment of mis-steps can help rebuild user confidence, but they must be paired with structural changes.
- Growing platforms must balance growth-at-all-costs with clarity, ethics and sustainability, especially when scaling across millions of users.
Final Thought:
Zepto’s dark-pattern episode serves as a reminder: in consumer tech, “how” you grow matters as much as “how much.” Aadit Palicha’s admission and decision to rollback these practices indicate his intent to put trust and transparency at the heart of Zepto’s next growth phase. Time will tell if the company truly turns the page.
