Wonderful Variety or Choice Overload?
March 8th, 2010 • Business, Consumerism, Experience Design, Human Behaviour
I think it’s safe to say, we love variety. I mean, doesn’t it make you feel good knowing that you could get a starfruit or a kumquat, even though 99% of the time you stick to apples and bananas? According to Barry Schwartz, ‘choice = freedom’ is a false assumption.
Today, we have more choice than ever, and in every aspect of life. Is this good? Do we (consumers) like this? Or is it making our experience less enjoyable? There are 20 different types of toothpaste. So, when you finally pick one, are you left feeling stressed and unsatisfied, or do you feel like you found something that’s perfect for YOU?
And what about EPOs? We like things made just for us, right? So doesn’t that require almost infinite variety? Well, this is the other side of that argument.
Here are a few principles that Barry talks about in a Google TechTalk:
Purchasing Paralysis
Too much choice can overwhelm us, leading to either a poor decision (I’ll just go on another all-inclusive at the same resort) or to opt out altogether (I’ll just eat in tonight).
Sometimes, like when we know exactly what we want, an abundance of choice is best. But most of us, most of the time, don’t know exactly what we want. So what do we do? We get a rough idea of what we want, and then we simplify our decision making process. Apple is one company that understands this. I want a computer -> laptop -> small -> cheap = MacBook. Now, try that with Dell.
Too much choice or too much decision making requires effort and takes away from the user experience.
We say no to good ideas every day; we say no to great ideas; to keep the number of things we focus on small in number. [We] can probably put every product we make on one table – and we had revenue last year of $40 billion. – Tim Cook, Apple COO (source)
Another great example is Costco: Limited selection; happy shoppers.
The anguish you go through when making a choice will continue to influence the experience even after the point of purchase.
So, if you had a crappy experience buying it, you will have a crappy experience using it, and your impression of the product, and by extension the brand, will be tainted. Why?
1) Regret
Its easier to imagine that there might be a better alternative when there are too many alternatives. It’s also the anticipation of regret that makes us opt out of making a decision. “Given all this choice, it’s my fault if I don’t pick the best thing”
2) Opportunity Cost
Life is all about trade-offs. The more options we have, the more attractive options we will inevitably have to give up when we finally do make a decision. So, on aggregate, the opportunity costs of our decision will all add up to make us dissatisfied.
Another way to put it: Everything suffers from comparison. “Cancun was great, but would we have been happier in Hawaii?”
When is it good to have ‘too much choice?’
If the options are alignable (i.e. they scale on the same dimension – size, colour, etc) then more choice is better. Exhibit A: Multicoloured Nanos. In this case, the iPod decision has been made. Picking a colour is fun and easy, and it gives you room to express yourself.
Another interesting insight: we like abundance, but not necessarily abundance of choice. We are more inclined to buy if we see a fully stocked shelf, but that shelf doesn’t have to have a bajillion different things on it. In fact, if it does, that might be a turn-off.
How to fix the choice overload problem?
Hire an agent
With an agent you don’t suffer the effects of choice-overload because you don’t have make the comparisons. You are separating the choice from the experience and therefore making the experience more enjoyable.
Ok, so my name isn’t Vinny Chase, and I don’t live in Hollywood. How can I possibly hire an agent? Well, guess what? You already are!
Google, Twitter, and Digg are all choice agents. They deliver information to you, without you having to sort through every possible option to find the best information.
What about getting the Chef’s special?
Opt In vs. Opt Out
If we have to opt in, we are more likely to do nothing. And if we have to opt out, we are more likely to do nothing. So, Make it such that if we do nothing, we get what is in our best interest.
Create the problem, then solve it
I love this example, because I’ve been in this situation before. The example is Greek diners in NYC. They have huge, overwhelming, multi-page menus. But on the front of the menu are “todays specials.” The great thing: today’s specials were yesterday’s, and will be tomorrow’s too. They are the same everyday.
By creating a problem (too much choice) and solving it for us (offering the specials) the diners benefits by controlling what we order (the highest margin items). And we benefit too, by getting a relatively effortless and enjoyable experience.
