Power of the default option

In New York City, you can now avoid getting flyers from the supermarket and restaurant menus stuck in your front door if you take the action to post this sign below.

Advertisers know the power of the default option.  While I expect most people would prefer not to get the ads, it takes effort to get the laminated sign and tie it to your front gate.  On any single day, it is easier to just throw the circular away.

If the city council had managed to pass a law in which homeowners had to opt in, the whole industry of dropping off ads would have been dead the next week.  Would anyone have taken the trouble to say, "Please do place unsolicited advertising on this property?"

The difference between opt-in and opt-out can determine the fate of an industry.

From Innovation Bootcamp