Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products

by Nir Eyal

Companies increasingly find that their economic value is a function of the strength of the habits they create.

Variable rewards are one of the most powerful tools companies implement to hook users;

Gourville claims that for new entrants to stand a chance, they can’t just be better, they must be nine times better. Why such a high bar? Because old habits die hard and new products or services need to offer dramatic improvements to shake users out of old routines. Gourville writes that products that require a high degree of behavior change are doomed to fail even if the benefits of using the new product are clear and substantial.

it improves search results based on past behaviors to deliver a more accurate and personalized experience, reinforcing the user’s connection with the search engine.

A habit is when not doing an action causes a bit of discomfort.

My answer to the vitamin versus painkiller question: Habit-forming technologies are both. These services seem at first to be offering nice-to-have vitamins, but once the habit is established, they provide an ongoing pain remedy.