Whilst the idea that more choice is a ‘bad thing’ can feel counter-intuitive at times, it’s not hard to demonstrate. Imagine that you had to select a blog from a selection of twenty or so to follow for the next year, but that you could only choose one. You’d better pick well because you’re going to be stuck with it for a while! And don’t dwell too long on what you might be missing out on from the others that you don’t choose! On the other hand, what if there were just three to choose from? The chances are that even if you liked two you would find that selection process far, far easier. The key issues affecting consumers (and anyone else) when making a choice from a number of alternatives are: The absolute number of alternatives: however simple the choice, having to screen and mentally juggle a large number […]
Too Much Choice
Following on from my post yesterday I thought I’d go into a bit more detail on the problem of choice, from a consumer perspective. Choice is attractive. Tell people that you have lots of alternatives and, for the most part, they will be more inclined to come to you. From this perspective more choice is better. But that’s not the whole story. Once consumers arrive and are required to actually make a choice, more options can lead to confusion (congnitive dissonance). That confusion can take several forms: Difficulty choosing between similar options. Difficulty selecting any one option as the better. Confusion over which product variable or attribute to attach most importance to. Anxiety about how they will feel about a choice they’re inclined towards, knowing that a particular (and also attractive) alternative was available at the time they chose. Customers may simply run out of energy (studies show cognitive processes burn […]
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