Default effect
People tend to stick with whatever is pre-selected.
Three of the eight page areas.
Three ways to use it, and two to avoid.
- Pre-select the most popular variant, delivery option or subscription frequency.
- Set sensible quantity defaults.
- Test a mid-to-upper default in configurators and bundles, which raised sales in a field study.
- Avoid: defaulting a paid extra into the basket, as a pre-ticked box is not consent and the charge must be refunded.
- Avoid: pre-ticked boxes and default settings for marketing, which are not valid consent under UK GDPR.
Opt-out defaults raise uptake, though the effect varies widely.
Opt-out defaults raise uptake with a medium-sized effect, though two studies showed the reverse.
A meta-analysis of 58 studies (73,675 people) found opt-out defaults raised uptake with a medium effect (d = 0.68), stronger in consumer settings but varying widely, with two studies showing the reverse. On a car maker’s live online configurator, Donkers and colleagues found defaults shifted choices, but the highest-price default brought in less revenue than a mid-priced one.
Five sources, each checked.
Last reviewed
A pre-ticked box that adds a paid extra is not consent: the charge is not payable and must be refunded (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, reg. 40). Pre-ticked boxes and default settings are also not valid consent for marketing under UK GDPR.
This is simply a pointer to check, not legal advice. Seek legal advice before you put this principle into action.