I almost had a paralysis attack again this morning. On my way to work, I stopped at the local Woolworths to buy some milk and snacks to stack up the office kitchen and before I knew it, I was staring at an entire isle of choices.
For companies such as Smiths, who makes potato chips, these are mementos times. I remember when growing up, this humble snack came in just a couple of flavours; salted, salt and vinegar & chicken. Today the choice is tongue-tingling: Thai sweet chilli, balsamic vinegar, caramelised onion, Thai sheet chilli, chicken, onion chutney, mozzarella and herb, to name a few. Venture into the milk section and you feel overwhelmed with the number of options once again.
After researching the topic of 'choice' extensively over the last few months, it turns out that an average supermarket now carries approximately 40,000 items, according to the Food and Marketing institute, which is 5 times more than about a decade ago. Some supermarkets stock almost 100 different types of shampoos, toothpastes and household cleaners. It’s no wonder, I dread going to supermarkets as I often get confused with which one to choose and even if I do make a decision, I often get into an internal debate as to why I had made the choice, or have I simply 'picked' one to satisfy that task.
Choice seduces the modern consumer at every turn. Lattes come tall, short, skinny, decaf, flavoured, iced, spiced or frappe. Jeans come flared, bootlegged, skinny, cropped, straight, low-rise, bleach-rinsed, dark-washed or distressed. Moisturiser nourishes lifts, smooths, revitalises, conditions, firms, refreshes and rejuvenates.
Thanks to the mix of modern medicine, technology and social change, choice has expanded from the grocery shelf to areas that once had few or none. Faces, noses, wrinkles, breasts and bellies can be remodelled, plumped or tucked. Movies can be viewed, recorded, downloaded or streamed on all manner of screens or devices. The internet has handed huge power to the consumer to research options, whether of medical procedures, or holiday breaks. Even the choice-comparison sites that I have relied on to market some of my products are expanding and no longer giving the seeker a peace of mind.
Many of these options have improved life immeasurably in the rich world, and to a lesser extent in poorer parts. They are testimony to human ingenuity and innovation. Free choice is the basis on which markets work, driving competition and generating economic growth. It is the cornerstone of liberal democracy. The 20th century bears the scars of too many failed experiments in which people had no choice. But amid all the dizzying possibilities, a nagging question lurks: is so much extra choice a good thing?
Over the past decade psychologists have come up with some intriguing insights. In one landmark experiment, conducted in an upmarket grocery store, researchers set up a sampling table with a display of jams. In the first test they offered a tempting array of 24 different jams to taste; on a different day they displayed just six. Shoppers who took part in the sampling were rewarded with a discount voucher to buy any jam of the same brand in the store. It turned out that more shoppers stopped at the display when there were 24 jams. But when it came to buying afterwards, fully 30% of those who stopped at the six-jam table went on to purchase a pot, against merely 3% of those who were faced with the selection of 24.
The psychologist came to the conclusion that too much choice is demotivating and I couldn’t agree with them more. I have been advising my clients over the years to keep things simple and keep their product ranges to as few as possible despite the general trend of giving the customers more and more choices, which has now proven my theory to be right but, I have often felt defeated as I have not been able to influence enough of them. It took some time to realise that the choices in all things are not going to reduce and I will not achieve anything by trying to fight the system which is inevitably growing. Instead, over the last few years I have decided to embrace the system and I have been working on a new venture called xYzed, which will be launching early this year, which will help us make better choice when it comes to choosing goods and service merchants. I hope xYzed to be my humble contribution to us which will help us make better choices when it comes to buying decisions.
As options multiply, there may be a point at which the effort required to obtain enough information to be able to distinguish sensibly between alternatives outweighs the benefit to the consumer of the extra choice. Barry Schwartz in “The Paradox of Choice”, writes “choice no longer liberates, but debilitates. It might even be said to tyrannise.” In other words, as Mr Schwartz puts it, “the fact that some choice is good doesn’t necessarily mean that more choice is better.” Daniel McFadden, an economist says that consumers find too many options troubling because of the “risk of misperception and miscalculation, of misunderstanding the available alternatives, of misreading one’s own tastes, of yielding to a moment’s whim and regretting it afterwards”, combined with “the stress of information acquisition”. Indeed, the expectation of indecision can prompt panic and a failure to choose at all. Too many options mean too much effort to make a sensible decision: better to bury your head under a pillow, or have somebody else pick it for you. The vast majority of shoppers in the grocery store faced with 24 jam varieties simply chose not to buy any. The more expensive an item such as a car, the more daunting the decision.
Surely, knowing that lots of choice is out there still feels good? But not, according to psychologists, if more choice raises expectations too high, which may make even a good decision feel bad. The potential for regret about the options not taken seems to be greater in the face of multiple choices.
Expectations have been inflated to such an extent that people think the perfect choice exists. Consider relationships. Bookshops are crowded with self-help guides and self-improvement manuals with titles such as “How to Choose & Keep Your Partner” or “Love is a Choice”. Internet dating sites promise to find the perfect match with just a few clicks of the mouse. This nourishes the hope of making the ideal choice, as well as the fanciful idea that there are quick, rational solutions to the complicated questions.
Confusion, indecision, panic, regret, anxiety: choice seems to come at a price. In one episode of “The Simpsons”, Marge takes Apu shopping in a new supermarket, Monstromart, whose cheery advertising slogan is “where shopping is a baffling ordeal”.
It could be that today’s children, growing up in a world of abundant choice, will find decisions even harder to take when they grow up. Their lives may be packed with instant choices as they zap from one site to another while texting a friend and listening to music on YouTube. But much of this is reflexive activity. The digital generation is “picking”, not “choosing”, with a world of choices rushing by like a music video, all a picker can do is grab this or that and hope for the best. But they have never learned to make a choice and run with it. In adult life, they aren’t equipped to cope.
When Levis began to stitch denim jeans, brand managers have made it their business to offer shoppers an easier life. Brands simplify choices. They are a guarantee of quality or consistency in a confusing market, and a badge of trust. Companies spend heavily on marketing and legal advice to protect or reinvent their brands and keep customers loyal, exploiting customers’ aversion to choice. The more that options multiply, the more important brands become. Today, when paralysed by choice, a consumer will often turn to a brand that is cleverly marketed to appear to be one that others trust.
Some businesses have begun to wake up to the perils of excess choice. Some firms employ “choice architects” to help guide consumers’ decision-making. When Procter & Gamble thinned its range of Head & Shoulders shampoos from 26 to 15 their sales increased by 10%. The fine art of limiting yourself to the essential in business and in life suggest practical ideas for cutting down on the effort of decision-making.
Those in the business of helping people choose offer various tips. The key is taking a decision. The truth is that it doesn't matter what we choose, only that we do choose. Stick to the choices that matter and eliminate the rest. When you approach simple living, sometimes the decision is clear-cut. Sometimes it’s not. The trouble with simplifying your life these days, it turns out, is that it involves too many choices. LOL
Over the last few years I have been researching and studying the science of decision making to understand what makes people choose the products and service providers that they end up choosing. In the world of increasing choices, I hope to launch my new venture xYzed this year as an organisation which (with the help of people, technology & businesses) will create a system that gives us the best choices based on algorithm created using past experiences of people and various filtration factors, which will make decision making easy for us all in a world which is giving us a over choice paralysis every time we have to choose.
Lets face it, the end result of all choices is either disappointment or happiness. My vision with xYzed is to deliver HAPPINESS to everyone that helps me build and use this system. I hope to share a lot more insight on this topic as I launch this business and I would like to humbly invite you to support me in my quest.
