In this episode, I’m discussing Buy Now: A Shopping Conspiracy, which is Netflix’s new documentary. How can we as digital product business owners learn from this documentary?

Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the Becky Beach show. I’m your host, Becky Beach, digital business scaling coach and the founder of CoachBeckyBeach.com and BusinessBeachClub.com. My mission is to help entrepreneurs like you create scalable, sustainable digital businesses so you can achieve financial freedom on making a positive impact.

Today, we’re diving into the fascinating and sobering world of consumerism through the lens of Netflix’s new documentary, Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy. This film is a deep dive into the tricks that big brands use to keep us buying and the enormous environmental toll of all that, of all that consumption.

While the documentary focuses primarily on physical goods, it got me thinking, what can we as digital entrepreneurs learn from it? Whether it’s mastering UX strategies, ethical marketing, or rethinking the way we sell, there’s a lot we can take away. Also share a personal story about the time I met Maren Costa.

One of the stars of this documentary. Back when I was working at Verizon, she’s the UX pioneer who went from innovating in Amazon to becoming a climate activist. Her story is powerful and it’s something we can all learn from. The tricks behind modern consumerism. Let’s start by unpacking Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy.

This film reveals how major corporations use psychological tactics and cutting edge design to encourage shopping and it’s working. The power of UX design. One of the documentary’s key themes is how frictionless user experiences are designed to make buying almost automatic. Amazon’s one click buy button is a perfect example.

As Maren Costa explained in the documentary, this wasn’t just a convenience, it was a psychological trigger. By removing steps from the checkout process, Amazon eliminates hesitation, making it easier for customers to act on impulse. This tactic extends to features like save payment methods. personalized recommendations, and even subscription models.

These design choices aren’t accidental. They’re the result of extensive A/B testing and data analysis. So let’s talk about FOMO and gamification. Another tactic highlighted in the film is how brands create urgency in a sense of scarcity. Think of those countdown timers on sales pages or limited time offers.

These methods tap into our fear of missing out, prompting us to buy now instead of thinking it over. The environmental impact. This documentary also exposed the hidden costs of this consumer driven model. One of the most shocking scenes shows discarded clothing washing up on beaches in West Africa.

These fast fashioned items are often worn just once or twice, end up polluting oceans and harming local ecosystems. It’s not just about clothes though. Technology, toys, and low quality goods all contribute to this cycle of waste. As entrepreneurs, this is something we can actively avoid by being more mindful of the products we create and how we market them.

This is my story about meeting Maren Costa from my UX days. I wanted to share a personal story about Maren Costa who is featured prominently on Buy Now.

Back when I was working as a lead UX designer at Verizon, I attended a UX event in Seattle. Maren was one of the keynote speakers and she was already a big name in the UX world for her work at Amazon.

Her talk was about improving store conversions through UX design and it was truly eye opening. She shared how Amazon’s UX team obsessively tested every detail of their interface from button colors to the wording of calls to action. Their goal was to make buying so simple that customers wouldn’t even have to think about it.

One thing that stuck me was her explanation of shoppable moments. Amazon’s strategy was to position themselves as a go to platform whenever a customer thought about buying something. Whether you’re out of toothpaste or craving a new book, they want Amazon to be your first thought. Fast forward to today and Maren’s story has taken a dramatic turn.

In 2020, she was fired from Amazon for speaking about the company’s environmental practices and warehouse worker safety during the pandemic. Her courage is to stand up for her values, even at the cost of her career, is something we can all admire. What digital entrepreneurs can learn. Now, let’s connect the dots between the lesson in buying now and our work as digital entrepreneurs.

Here are four key takeaways:

Number one, streamline your customer journey. Maren’s insights about frictionless design are gold. If your checkout process is complicated or your website is slow, you’re losing sales. Simplify every step from your landing page to your thank you page. Tools like Shopify or Thrivecart make it easy to create seamless buying experiences.

Use A/B testing to optimize. Amazon’s UX team doesn’t leave anything to chance and neither should you. Test different headlines, CTA, which means calls to action, or even pricing tiers to see which resonates most with your audience. Start small, analyze your results, and scale what works.

Number three, highlight the sustainability of digital products.

Unlike physical goods, digital products have no waste. They don’t fill up the landfills or pollute oceans. This is a powerful selling point, especially for eco conscious consumers.

Make it part of your brand story to build trust and stand out from the competition. For instance, if you sell digital planners, you can say that this eliminates paper waste because digital planners are used on a tablet.

Number four, sell with integrity. Instead of relying on urgency tricks or manipulative tactics, focus on the real value your product delivers. Be transparent about what your audience will get and let your products benefit speak for themselves. And this is my shift for being a drop shipper to digital products.

I haven’t always been a digital only entrepreneur. Before COVID 19, I was heavily involved in drop shipping, such as women’s purses. While it was profitable, I started to feel uneasy about the environmental impact. Excessive packaging, shipping emissions, and the potential for products to end up as waste didn’t align with my values.

So. When the pandemic hit, I took the leap to focus entirely on digital products, such as printables, spreadsheets, online courses, and more. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Not only is my business more scalable, but I also feel good knowing that my products have no environmental footprint.

If you’re still selling physical goods, I encourage you to explore digital too. It’s more sustainable, less stressful, and incredibly rewarding. So by now, the shopping conspiracy challenges us to rethink the way we shop and sell. As digital entrepreneurs, we have the opportunity to build businesses that are not only successful, but also ethical and sustainable.

By applying smart UX practices, embracing data driven testing, And focusing on the value of our products, we can create something truly impactful. And the best part, digital products allow us to grow without contributing to the waste and environmental damage highlighted in the film. Thank you for tuning in the Becky Beach Show.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, or share it with someone who would benefit from these insights. For more tips, resources, and coaching, visit CoachBeckyBeach. com. And make sure to check out the BusinessBeachClub.com membership. The BusinessBeachClub. com has everything you need to start and or scale your digital product business.

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Until next time, keep creating, growing and thriving. Have a great day. Goodbye.