Netflix’s eye-opening new documentary Buy Now: The Online Shopping Conspiracy delves into the online shopping surge and how major companies have managed the extraordinary increase in product demand.
The film is penned and helmed by Emmy-nominee Nic Stacey, celebrated for her work on The World According to Jeff Goldblum. Its synopsis reads: “This subversive documentary unpacks the tricks brands use to keep their customers consuming – and the real impact they have on our lives and the world.”
Ex-Amazon worker Maren Costa, who notably co-founded the Amazon Employees for Climate Justice campaign before being let go from the company, also contributes to the documentary. She played a pivotal role in shaping Amazon’s online shopping experience during its early days, reports the Mirror.
“We were constantly developing new ways to get you to buy,” she admitted. “Influencing your behaviour in subtle ways that you’d never even realise.”
She revealed that one tactic used to encourage shoppers to purchase more was altering the colours of certain elements on the page.
“We could have a certain sentence that says ‘Free shipping if you purchase $25 or more’. In one case you made the $25 orange. In another one you make it green, and you can have nine different things that you’re testing against each other,” she elaborated. “And there’s enough traffic to the site that you could get statistically relevant data on which version of that sentence makes the most money.”
With her insight into the science of online shopping, she offered a top tip to potential buyers to prevent them from impulsively purchasing items they might not actually need – and it’s incredibly simple.
“If you think you need something, put it in your online cart and leave it there for a month,” she suggested. “And if you still want it after a month, it might actually be something you need.”
In another part of the documentary, viewers are introduced to ‘waste’ TikToker Anna Sacks. The influencer, who boasts nearly half a million followers on the social media platform, shares videos of her wandering around New York and tearing open bin bags, revealing the usable products that many major companies discard.
Buy Now: The Online Shopping Conspiracy is now streaming on Netflix