In today’s hyper-competitive market, creating a product that resonates isn’t just about offering new features or solving problems, it’s actually about fostering habits. Consider the objects that you interact with on a daily basis. There are surely some that stand out from the rest — products that have become an indispensable part of your routine, influencing what you do and how you do it.
“You don’t wake up in the morning and say: Hmm, how should I make toast today? The fact that you have your toaster right in front of you means you’re going to use it with little or no conscious thought.”
As the author of the now seminal book Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, Nir Eyal has spent over a decade researching why certain products are able to so successfully influence user behaviour. Known globally as “The Prophet of Habit-Forming Technology”, he recently sat down with WDO to share some key insights on the intersection of design, habits and ethics in a digital world.
Why are some companies able to deliver world-changing habit-forming products while others come and go? And how do we unlock those secrets so that everyone can use them? Before the publication of Hooked, there were no resources that outlined the key attributes of a habit-forming product. With the book, “the idea was always to democratize these techniques. At the time, I had to convince people that successful companies were using consumer psychology principles. Today, I don’t have to convince anybody.”
Eyal’s approach centers around the Hooked Model, a cycle of four interconnected phases that, when executed effectively, embed the product into the routines of their users. “The Hooked Model is a way of describing a user’s interactions with a product as they pass through four phases: a trigger to begin using the product, an action to satisfy the trigger, a variable reward for the action, and some type of investment that, ultimately, makes the product more valuable to the user.” As the user goes through these phases, they build habits in the process.
Step 1: the Trigger
The starting point of habits, triggers can be external or internal. External triggers are explicit cues, like a notification, a call to action in an ad, or a link shared by a friend. They remind or encourage users to engage with a product. Internal triggers stem from users’ emotions, thoughts, or routines and are particularly powerful because they are deeply ingrained. Eyal notes that “when a product successfully associates itself with a user’s emotional need, it bypasses the need for constant external nudges.”
Step 2: the Action
Once triggered, the next step is to encourage users to take action. According to Eyal, this phase relies on B.J. Fogg’s Behaviour Model, which states that for any action to occur, three elements must converge simultaneously: motivation (the desire to achieve a specific outcome), ability (the simplicity of the action) and a trigger (a well-timed prompt).
Step 3: Variable Rewards
Rooted in the power of unpredictability, rewards are at the core of habit formation, but not just any reward will do. Eyal emphasizes the importance of variable rewards — those that introduce a level of unpredictability or surprise. This variability taps into the brain’s dopamine-driven reward system, making the experience more engaging and memorable
Step 4: Investment
The final stage is where users put something of value like time, effort, data, or money into the product. The investment phase is critical because it increases the likelihood of future engagement. The more users invest, the more they feel tied to the product.
For designers, learning how to design for user habits and harness them to build new behaviours is indeed a superpower — one that can be used for both good and evil. Designing habit-forming products can border on exploitation if users are manipulated into unhealthy patterns of behaviour.
According to Eyal, all design is in fact manipulation, but the important thing is to differentiate between the two kinds of manipulation. “We have what’s called persuasion, which is helping people do things they themselves want to do. The other side of manipulation is what we call coercion, in other words, getting people to do things they don’t want to do, things that they regret doing later.”
So what does the future of habit-forming products hold? An expanding role for AI for one, especially because the technology can personalize triggers and rewards in ways that feel almost intuitive. “I think in the next few years, every product will be expected to be personalized. And if you don’t do it, your competition is going to and you will lose customers.”
“Everybody’s smart. Everybody has good technology. Today, the real point of differentiation is who can create the habit. It’s the designer that captures the monopoly of the mind that can capture the market.”
As we grapple with these impending shifts, what the Hooked Model provides is more than just a blueprint for product success — it’s a lens through which designers can better understand human behaviour and the forces that have and will soon influence it. There is immense responsibility when tapping into this psychology of habits, but in doing so, designers can create products that not only capture attention but also promote better quality of life on an individual and community level.
Nir Eyal writes, consults and teaches about the intersection of psychology, technology and business. Nir previously taught as a Lecturer in Marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford. He is the author of two bestselling books, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life. His books have resonated with readers worldwide, selling over 1 million copies in over 30 languages.
