How Uber Eats Uses Psychology to Make You Crave Convenience
Did you ever order food through the Uber Eats app? You’re likely not alone. As of August 2024, nearly 30,000 people in the Netherlands downloaded the Uber Eats app. The app is not just about convenience, it’s designed to create a food delivery habit that you don’t even think about.
Uber Eats wants you to order food more than just as a treat. They want it to be your default choice. But how does Uber Eats, like other apps, make you want to use them regularly?
Convenience is Uber Eats’ Ally
Let’s be real: we humans love convenience. We want things to be easy. Uber Eats uses this to their advantage. They make ordering food as simple as possible. But developing a habit is tough, so how does Uber Eats make us want to order food so often?
Understanding the Hook Model
The Hook Model is a psychological framework that explains how products are designed to create habits. It breaks down into four phases:
1. **Trigger:** A cue that prompts the user to take action.
2. **Action:** The user performs the simplest behavior in anticipation of a reward.
3. **Variable Reward:** An unpredictable outcome that creates a positive association with the app.
4. **Investment:** Users contribute something valuable, like time or personal data, which strengthens their commitment to the product.
How Uber Eats Uses the Hook Model
Uber Eats uses various psychological strategies to make us crave convenience. These strategies target our need for ease and our desire for rewards. Here’s how Uber Eats leverages the Hook Model:
1.
Triggers: Making you want to order food
Uber Eats relies on external triggers, like app notifications, promotional offers, and reminders. These cues are strategically timed to catch users when they are most likely to order food. For instance, if you are tired after work and don’t want to cook, Uber Eats sends you a notification with a discount on your favorite restaurant. These triggers align external cues with internal motivations, such as fatigue or hunger.
2.
Action: Making the ordering process as easy as possible
Uber Eats makes the ordering process simple and seamless. You can save your payment details, preset delivery addresses, and easily navigate the app. Ordering food becomes just a few clicks away. The app is designed to reduce cognitive load, meaning it minimizes the mental effort required to place an order. Uber Eats also combats decision fatigue by providing personalized suggestions based on your past orders, dietary habits, location, and time of day.
3.
Variable Rewards: The thrill of the unexpected
Uber Eats uses variable rewards, such as fluctuating promotions and discounts. These rewards are unpredictable, making them more appealing. When you receive an unexpected reward, your brain releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter that creates positive associations with the action that led to the reward. This encourages you to return to the app.
4.
Investment: Building a connection to the app
Uber Eats encourages users to invest in the app through personalization. You can save your favorite restaurants, leaving a sense of psychological ownership. Adding restaurants to your favorites list makes you more likely to use the app again. Writing reviews also benefits other users and enhances the overall value of the app.
Understanding the Impact of Design on Behavior
The next time you order from Uber Eats, think about how you ended up opening the app. Remember that the app is carefully designed to make you crave convenience and create a habit. These apps, like Uber Eats, influence our decisions every day. It’s crucial to be aware of the psychological tactics these apps employ to understand how our behavior is shaped.
Conclusion
Uber Eats has mastered the art of habit formation using psychological frameworks. By understanding these techniques, we can be more mindful of how our behavior is influenced by digital products. It’s essential to recognize that these apps can impact our habits and make conscious choices.
This article is a summary of ‘How Uber Eats makes you think you want to order food’ originally published in UX Collective on Medium. [https://uxdesign.cc/how-uber-eats-makes-you-think-you-want-to-order-food-c943a9dbfb93](https://uxdesign.cc/how-uber-eats-makes-you-think-you-want-to-order-food-c943a9dbfb93)