A dive into the Choice Conundrum
Choices as a result segmentation paralyses customer decision.
As the pandemic started, there was a shortage of imported consumer products in the market. Being a choosy buyer and having a preferred deodorant for over 10 years, I was short of a commodity which isn’t a basic need but something I use in routine and have developed affiliation with. So what happens when I go to shop for a deodorant…
I see 6 rows and 100 columns of deodorants in a big store. The spot where my usual deodorant sits…occupied by some other product. It was surprising how much I missed it. I reach a Nike deodorant, because I have heard of the brand and have seen people around me using it. Sniff a few of their choices and buy what I thought was best among those 8 choices.
I had no school at that time. Nothing special to do at home. The store would have stayed open for next several hours. So I could have started from the top and sniffed the 600 deodorants to really buy something I like or something which is even better than my usual. Why didn’t I do it? 600 and preference.
Firstly, let’s look at the obvious reason. “Hope”. I was not looking for something better to replace my usual deodorant with. I was looking for something that can substitute for it till I am able to buy it again.
I did think, what if the choice was smaller. Maybe I would have sniffed the 10 deodorants. 600 is an overwhelming number of sprays to smell and decide from. This “choice overload” discouraged me to try some more. Plus, why exhaust myself for such a small thing which would be a temporary buy.
10 choices are too low and 600 are too many. Maybe moderation is the key.
This number is crucial in the marketing world that wants to leverage the segmentation tactic. Where specific product/s are targeted to specific people based on grouping them according to geographic, behavioral, demographic or psychographic basis. This has a great potential to optimize customer value proposition to increase customer satisfaction and retention along with maintaining profits and market share.
A few checks are also in place to ensure segmentation is done where it is beneficial for example, segmenting according to the services and knowledge of the buyer or discontinuing segmentation programs if expenses are more than the profit being earned from it.
Segmentation leads to choices, but sometimes these choices can paralyze the customer proving counteractive to brand’s interest. This phenomenon is discussed in a book by Barry Schwartz, a psychologist as “Paradox of Choice”.
Two main factors leading to this paradox are:
Decision Fatigue
Ever regretted a purchase you made later in a shopping spree. A study on parole decisions show that parole cases in the morning were 70% more likely to get green lit than later in the day with just 10% paroles granted by the same judge. This consistent decline happens because of “decision fatigue”. We make big and small decisions every day, it is a taxing task for the brain that exhausts the person, compromising their decisions in the later hours. We are always trying to minimize the number of decisions we need to make in order to conserve this precious source of willpower.
Buyer’s Remorse
Brands need to realize that when they are providing choices, they are putting people in a situation where they have something to lose too. We do not like to feel left out or that we made a bad decision. This feeling of post-purchase anxiety is discussed by Karen in his book “Marketing: The Core” as cognitive dissonance.
The more choices we have to pick from the higher the anxiety. Although segmentation tries to target particular market some buyers discover these choices at the store. Whatever they choose, they are at a risk of feeling of anxiety, regret and self-blame.
Marketing is as complex field as it is serving a complex specie that wants choice but doesn’t want to make this choice. Every brand needs to find a balance in what they offer and cater to their target market, and do so by maintaining sustainable profits.
A recent related observation:
Buyer’s Remorse came into play as ‘Can you change your vote?’ surges in searched terms, after the presidential debate for US 2020 elections.
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Read about how to make choices work in the market at
