Whether its gaming, food, or travel, designers in almost every industry are nudging us to spend money. Many design patterns, from the colors, shapes, and sizes of buttons, lead us to spend more than we would have anticipated.
American Airlines Upgrade to Main Plus modal
For American Airlines, after choosing round trip flight details, a modal pops up asking the user if they want to upgrade to Main Plus for $112. Notice how the “Upgrade” button is primary and highlighted. During my experience booking a flight through American Airlines, this was the only screen where they were nudging me to spend more money.
However, United Airlines tries to get users to spend much more than American Airlines.
United Airlines confirming that Basic Economy fits your travel modal
In the case of United Airlines, after choosing the round trip flight details, a modal pops up asking the user to confirm that Basic Economy is enough. However**, the modal highlights “Economy for $228”** and disables “Basic Economy from $168” until the user checks “Basic Economy works for me.”
United Airlines confirming that Basic Economy fits your travel modal after checking “Basic Economy works for me”
United Airlines travel add-ons screen
The next screen asks me if I want to add “Travel add-ons.” At first glance, the two options in each flight make it seem like travel add-ons are required. There is an absence of a “No thanks” option. The only way to continue is if the user clicks “Continue to seats.”
United Airlines seat selection screen
Compared to American Airlines, United Airlines hides the prices of the seats on the seat chart. Users have to rely on connecting the legend with the seat chart. Again, if the user does not scroll to the bottom of the page, they may assume choosing a seat is mandatory at first glance and even free because the seats are all blank.