You can approach product design in two ways

You can work on making it easy for the user to do something they need to, such as placing an order.

Or, you could try and make the user do something that you want them to do. For instance, placing an order they might not need would be good for your bottom line.

The first is user-centric

Making the simplest and most intuitive interaction that helps users achieve their goals involves principles such as “Don’t make me think” and Polite software.

You work towards making the users’ experience as smooth as possible and providing maximum value.

The user then continues using your product because of its usefulness — the better the design, the greater the value

The second is business-centric

The second approach is to make the user do what you want them to do, regardless of whether it is in their best interest. Increasing retention or spending are classic examples.

However, this type of design can easily and quickly veer into self-destructive or unethical.

For instance, it often involves making it easier and more compelling for the user to spend money. Starting to extract maximum profit from your customers can quickly alienate them and ruin what you’ve worked hard to build.

On the more sinister side, many deceptive landing pages are designed using this approach.

While this might increase the value of the business, it doesn’t increase the value provided to users.

To a certain degree, you do need both

After all, you are running a business and are responsible for its profitability, and your product won’t be useful if it no longer exists.

However, if you find that your business focuses entirely, or predominantly, on the second way, it might be in trouble.

If the business-centric approach takes over, take a step back

When the second method starts being dominant, the usefulness of the business is in question.

If you have to manipulate your users, you must continuously find new ways and end up with a pyramid scheme of manipulations.

“Discounts” in South-East Asian e-commerce

The way South-East Asian e-commerce platforms employ “discounts” and “promotions” is an excellent example of businesses that started with a legitimate marketing strategy but ended up relying entirely on the second approach due to a failure to develop other aspects of the company.

At first, discounts and promotions were a customer acquisition tool, as in any other industry.

However, the e-commerce platforms kept doing them in the name of sales and growth without building any other parts of the business.

They did not work on becoming a core part of their users’ lives ending up a secondary and opportunistic one. Their logistics are still laughable. Fakes are rampant, and the list goes on.

So, they have to have discounts all the time. And, since that is not sustainable, they constantly work on making their prices look the most discounted.

Here’s a search for “shoes” on one of them. Notice that every single product is “discounted”. (Yellow background and red border are my additions.)