Why You Get Fooled Into Thinking More Choice is Better

Read time: 4 minutes

Your task is to make the right choice.

I can give you 6 options to choose from or 24 options to choose from.

How many options do you want so that you make the right choice?

Before you answer, let's explore an intriguing experiment…which involves jams.

There's a grocery store named Draeger’s Market known for its extensive variety. It offers 250 types of mustard and vinegar, 75 olive oils, and a whopping 350 types of jam.

In 2000, two psychologists investigated whether having these many options led to more sales.

So they set up two tables offering free samples of jam to shoppers.

• One table with 24 jams (the "big table")

• The other with 6 jams (the "little table")

If a shopper sampled, they were given a $1 off coupon to purchase a jam.

The variety at the big table drew 50% more shoppers, but when it came to actual purchases, a surprising outcome emerged:

• From the big table, only 3 out of 145 people bought a jam

• From the little table, 31 out of 104 people bought a jam

10x more shoppers bought a jam after sampling from the little table.

10x!

It reveals a significant truth: too many choices often lead to fewer sales.

This is called the choice overload problem.

And it happens to you and your customers. When you (or they) face too many options, the brain becomes overwhelmed. And it makes even the simplest of decisions seem like a daunting task.

Oftentimes that overwhelm leads to decision paralysis - opting to avoid the decision altogether.

Or, in this case…buy the jam.

I personally know this to be true...because sometimes, when figuring out what to write about, I feel this irresistible urge to reach for my phone. My brain is looking for an easy way out. A distraction. It knows it's easier to scroll mindlessly than it is to answer, “What do I want to write about…with so many choices!?”

So I’ve learned to leave my phone out of arm's reach.

What does the choice overload problem mean for you (in the bigger picture)?

The choice overload problem runs full steam into the paradox of choice.

The paradox of choice is that you tend to believe more choices mean greater freedom, satisfaction, and happiness.

But the opposite is true.

More choices actually lead to:

• less freedom

• less happiness

• less satisfaction

Why should this matter to you?

So now we have these competing forces:

• The belief that more choice is better

• The overwhelm from actually having more choices

As the jams experiment proves, most of the time, we opt not to decide.

The bigger problem is that we will opt not to decide even when doing so goes against our best interests.

Even forgoing money.

You'd say investing for retirement is a smart move, right? I mean, the numbers prove it to be so. Yet a study of millions of employees revealed a crazy statistic:

Employees who are presented with a larger choice of mutual fund options invest less often than employees with a few options.

There it is again - opting not to decide.

To make it worse, by opting out, these employees forgo the matching contribution (free money) some employers offer. It is about $5,000 per year.

Choice overwhelm = lost money (in this case)

What if you are among the few that can overcome the decision paralysis and actually make a choice?

You might think you're in the clear. It’s unlikely. While you've overcome inaction, Barry Schwartz found that having more options (paradox of choice) leads you to feel worse about your decision. You experience:

• More regret: The mind imagines the other choices might have something better.

• Less satisfaction: More options lead you to expect a better outcome...and higher expectations lead to higher disappointment.

• More self-blame: When you feel more regret and less satisfaction - you blame yourself for not selecting the "best" option from an expansive list.

We are in love with many options, but having them leads us to less satisfaction.

See the paradox?

How can you take advantage of this insight?

You're now equipped with awareness.

The first step, check. But your customers probably don't even realize what's happening. So if you want them to buy, you must counter overwhelm and ease decision-making.

Here are 4 strategies you can use to make decision-making frictionless:

Remove unnecessary options: Some options are good. So add constraints to a decision to narrow optionality, but don't cut them all.

Make decisions more real: Tangibility is key. Help your customers visualize the benefits of their decision. It will prompt quicker action.

Use categories: Categories are an easier way to handle a variety of options. 10 categories with 10 choices per category are easier than 100 individual choices. Our brain makes sense of categories.

Start with easy decisions: Sequence decisions from simple to complex. Prime the mind to create momentum and confidence. Because starting with the hard stuff leads to overwhelm.

Reduce the friction of the decision-making process for you and your customer.

If nothing else, here is a takeaway to keep handy:

If you find this post will save you from a lifetime of dissatisfaction, then this post will help you make even greater decisions.

Inspiration and sources:

• TEDTalk: Paradox of Choice

• TEDTalk: How to make choosing easier

• Article: When Choice is Demotivating: Can One Desire Too Much of a Good Thing?

New to the newsletter?

Welcome to Impact Thinking.

Hi, I’m Peter. I quit my highly-regarded, 6-figure job at Harvard to become a full-time solopreneur in 2019.

Most business owners fail. The ones that survive grind through average results. And I learned why.

It all comes down to how you think. Thinking is the greatest form of leverage, and you’re paid based on how much leverage you provide.

This newsletter shares how you can think strategically, critically, and creatively to ditch average results.

Learn to be in the business of thinking.

Subscribe here:

Get exclusive content weekly in your inbox.