Quitting an Amazon Prime membership is a confusing business that can often feel like it takes longer than the next-day delivery the service promises. By the end of next month, however, UK subscribers will be able to leave with just two simple clicks.
The change will be implemented after complaints from consumer groups succeeded in bringing changes to the subscription service across the EU last week.
In a move that will be replicated across the UK by the end of August, the e-retailer now allows European users to unsubscribe with two clicks via a prominent and clear cancel button. Under the current system in the UK, users need to click on multiple links before saying goodbye to Prime.
A complaint from consumer groups to the EU’s executive arm said users had to go through numerous hurdles such as complicated navigation menus, skewed wording and confusing choices to unsubscribe from Prime.
A membership to the service costs £7.99 a month or £79 a year in the UK and includes unlimited one-day delivery on specified items as well as access to Amazon’s video and music streaming services and its Kindle library.
Norway’s consumer council, one of the consumer groups behind the EU complaint, said Amazon made it deliberately difficult to cancel Prime memberships, using manipulative design techniques known in the industry jargon as “dark patterns”. Norway joined the complaint as a member of the European Economic Area, which covers the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway and will also implement the two-click alteration.
An Amazon spokesperson said: “Customer transparency and trust are top priorities for us. By design we make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up for or cancel their Prime membership. We continually listen to feedback and look for ways to improve the customer experience.”
Speaking after the decision by Brussels on Friday, the EU’s justice commissioner, Didier Reynders, said: “Consumers must be able to exercise their rights without any pressure from platforms. One thing is clear: manipulative design or ‘dark patterns’ must be banned.”