Paradox of Choice

Barry Schwartz had some very insightful ideas about the customer decision making process and how choices can really complicate making decisions. He used the example of the supermarket and how there are seventy five types of salad dressing. Talk about a lot of choices! Imagine making 6.5 million stereo systems from parts at one electronics store. It is no surprise that consumers can be overwhelmed at times.

It makes complete sense to me that when you increase the number of choices, participation can go down. Barry Schwartz described an episode of shopping for blue jeans, and I had a similar experience at the mall with blue jeans. I am not much of a shopper and I sometimes get overwhelmed by shopping malls. I went to Nordstrom in search of a pair of new, trendy jeans. When I got there, there were so many pairs to choose from that I did not know where to begin. I ended up leaving frustrated with no jeans. A few weeks later, I went to another department store where I was helped by a sales assistant who asked me what I was looking for and my size and then showed me about eight pairs. By narrowing down my number of choices I was able to make a decision and left with a pair of jeans that I felt were good for me. I think it is very characteristic of humans to get overwhelmed by choices and just give up. I purposely shop at Randall’s instead of HEB because Randall’s is smaller and is less overwhelming to me. Although some people prefer HEB’s greater selection, I prefer the ease of the smaller grocery store. This is also the case for me with online shopping. There are so many options that I usually end up buying nothing.

The issue of buyer’s remorse can be enhanced by greater choice. If there is only one option, then it is the best option. But if there are a bunch of options, then you start to wonder if you picked the best one. This happens to me constantly when I go out to eat. I always pick out two or three things and then stress out over which one to order. I am the one at dinner who tells the server, “I’ll have the chicken, no, the fish, wait, the chicken.. Oh just bring me the chicken.” Then when the food comes I suddenly wish I had gone with the fish. When my roommate cooks me dinner and tells me we are having pasta, I eat the pasta and am satisfied.

In a world of so many choices, the consumer gets bogged down with the pressure of making a decision. That being said, it is a phenomenon that we must live with if we want to have the freedom of choice. Although I sometimes leave a mall frustrated or wish I had ordered another meal, I am much happier than if I was told what clothes to wear or food to eat. As an American consumer in this day and age, we get used to having millions of choices. We like researching products to pick the one that is right for us. We enjoy having unique clothes and styles. We all have our iPods play the type of music we like. Some marketers even use this power of choice to their advantage. I think Apple’s new “nanochromatic Ipods” are a good example of this. By offereing the standard iPod nano in an array of colors, it allows the consumer to pick their favorite and feel that they have a product that is uniquely theirs even though they are completely mainstream and mass produced. The Nike ID shoes you can customize also use this tactic.

Although I sometimes get overwhelmed by choices, I do enjoy having them. Barry Schwartz makes some interesting points on this subject and I am interested to examine these observations further.