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Paradox of Choice: Why Less is More By Ritchie Sayner Advanced Retail Strategies Most retailers would agree that offering customers a wide variety
Then add Netflix, Hulu and all of the other options you have access
of choices to pick from either in the store or on the website is a
to and you can shoot the entire evening simply trying to decide
good thing. As with many things in life, there can be too much of
what to watch.
a good thing.
Often this can lead to frustration and lack of satisfaction with the
That is where Barry Schwartz’s 2014 book entitled, The Paradox of
choice you ended up making. How many times have you gotten 5
Choice, comes in. Schwartz’s book explains how “too much of a good
to 10 minutes into a program that you thought looked interesting
thing can prove detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-
only to start the entire process over again? [Sidenote: Some may
being.” In other words, when the offering or assortment is too great
remember when the number of television choices was exactly
and there is too much from which to choose, the choices become
three… ABC, NBC, CBS].
overwhelming and result in customers actually being less satisfied.
The same thing can happen in your store. Unless the assortment
Here is a great example. Think of how many television channels
plan is carefully monitored, it is possible your customer could
you subscribe to. For most subscription services this can range
become overwhelmed with choices and end up buying less than
from 250-450 different viewing options. Even when you remove the
expected. Have you ever showed a customer several styles of
foreign language and shopping networks the choice is overwhelming.
jeans, sandals, or you name it only to hear them say, “do you Continued on Page 24 July/August 2021 | 23 NSGA NOW ®
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