We all have an abundance of choices. Every day we\u2019re faced with a ton of them before we even make it to the kitchen for breakfast. Even when choosing something as simple as a shampoo, we need to think about the:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Brand (premium, mid-range, supermarket\u2019s own) \u2022 Scent (coconut, raspberry, vanilla, cinnamon, mint, sunflower, camellia, honey, rose) \u2022 Color (red, pink, white, cream, yellow, green, purple, brown, orange, blue) \u2022 Added benefits (replenishing, nourishing, volumizing, child-friendly, for dry hair,\u2026)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Shape of the bottle (straight, oval, rectangle, long, short, fat, thin)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that\u2019s just to wash our hair. We face the same choice when it comes to conditioner, soap, toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant and all this before we\u2019ve even left the bathroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s no wonder, then, that choice overload is becoming commonplace, intruding into our decision-making process and making our lives harder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Choice overload is what happens when we\u2019re faced with more possibilities than we can clearly or easily comprehend. It happens when we spend what seems like 6 days deciding whether we want pepperoni, jalape\u00f1os, peppers, chicken, chili chicken, tandoori chicken, bacon, extra cheese, sweetcorn, onion, beef, meatballs, salami, mushrooms, ham or pineapple on our pizza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The confusion, apprehension, anxiety, and indecision we feel when faced with an abundance of choice are all symptoms of choice overload.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we experience this overload in life, we sometimes might not consciously realize it. However, if a customer experiences this on your website, you certainly will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are many negative side-effects when your customers face the dreaded experience of choice overload, each having an undesirable impact on your sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are some of the issues your customers could be facing and how you can help them make better choices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheena Iyana in her famous jam experiment<\/a> found that the more choice we have, the harder it becomes to, not just make the right choice, but to make any choice at all. Iyana proved that when we\u2019ve got too many options to consider, we\u2019re more likely to defer our decision making or give up on choosing entirely. Barry Schwartz, the author of The Paradox of Choice, identified this phenomenon as \u2018analysis paralysis\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The more customers experience this sensation on your site, the more damage you\u2019ll be doing to your sales.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When experiencing choice overload, sometimes people make flippant decisions \u2013 choices that don\u2019t really<\/em> match their specific need but are simply easier to choose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a study conducted by Alexander Cherney<\/a>, Ph.D., it was found that when people were given a choice of different variants of the same branded toothpaste, people would rather avoid the pain of having to decide altogether and opt for a brand with only one option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Richard Thaler and Cass Sustain in their book, Nudge<\/em>, stress that people \u2018go with the flow\u2019 and that, through setting default choices, such as cell phone networks automatically enrolling new customers onto paperless billing, companies can increase sales or save money. The difficulty with setting defaults whilst trying to increase sales is that it\u2019s harder to match a default product to a specific, personalized need<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If customers opt out of the thought process, pick the default or simply just choose any option, there\u2019s far less chance that they\u2019ll be satisfied with the result.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Renata Saleel highlights<\/a> that because choice is linked to risk, making choices can be anxiety provoking. When we make a choice, it\u2019s all too easy to imagine that there\u2019s a better alternative out there. This means that customers, even when they do make a purchase, can feel immediately dissatisfied, even if that theoretical better alternative doesn\u2019t really exist. This means that choice overload can affect your relationship building with new customers and the loyalty of existing ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If customers leave your website having felt unsatisfied with their purchase, then there\u2019s less chance they\u2019ll come back again in the future and more chance of them seeking out your competition to find that imagined better alternative.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n With 71% of people being more likely to make a purchase through a social media referral<\/a> and online reviews proven to increase sales<\/a> by up to 13%, it\u2019s never been more important to build a positive reputation online. It\u2019s essential to building trust with new and existing customers and to securing long term sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If customers are being left dissatisfied through feeling the side effects of choice overload, then it follows that more will leave worse feedback about their purchase, and the website they made it on. This could be not just hurting your current sales figures, but it could hurt future ones as well.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The first port of call for any business selling products or services to people should be to address the level of choice that exists on your site. Reducing complexity and narrowing choice can boost revenues by 5-40%<\/a>. For example, Head and Shoulders stripped back its product offering and increased sales by 10%<\/a>, so you should certainly start there. And to make it easier for customers to make the right choice, you need to improve the shopper decision-making process<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n2) Customers put less thought into choices<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3) Customers reduce their own satisfaction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4) Customers provide negative reviews<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What you can do about it<\/h2>\n\n\n\n