Protect Shoppers from Too Many Choices

One weekend, customers at Draeger’s Grocery Store in Menlo Park, California were offered the opportunity to sample from Wilkin and Sons premium jams. Each shopper who accepted the invitation received a coupon for a one dollar discount on a purchase of any Wilkin and Sons jar.
     Sounds routine enough. However, the architects of this jam sampling were consumer psychology researchers from nearby Stanford University. The researchers wanted to know how the number of choices available to the shoppers affected the frequency of jam purchases.
     At some periods during the experiment, shoppers were presented 6 different jams from which to sample. Shoppers who came by at other times were offered 24 different jams.
     It turned out that shoppers presented with 6 choices to sample from were ten times as likely to end up purchasing a jar of jam as were the shoppers presented with 24 choices.
     This doesn’t happen only around Stanford University and with jams. At Columbia University, student participants were exposed to either 6 different varieties of Godiva chocolates or 30 different varieties. Yes, those exposed to the 6 were much more likely to subsequently select a box of Godiva chocolates rather than a cash payment for participation in the study.
     As a retailer, you want shoppers both to make purchases and to be satisfied with their shopping experiences. Observing shoppers might lead you think that having more options results in more satisfaction. Researchers intrigued by the Stanford/Columbia findings decided to explore that issue. A Cornell University study concluded that as the number of alternatives got large, shopper satisfaction went down.
     Your customers want choices and variety. But not too much. The article in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in which the Stanford/Columbia research was reported begins with the epigram “Ne quid nimis. (In all things, moderation).”

For your profitability: Sell Well: What Really Moves Your Shoppers