Have you ever been paralyzed by indecision when shopping for various consumer products?
I have, usually when it comes to buying light bulbs at Canadian Tire or shampoo at Shoppers Drug Mart. Hundreds of shampoos and conditioners are for sale, one for every phenotype of hair: curly, straight, red, brown, dry, fine, and on and on. And that's just one brand.
Retail, however, is all about choice. The greater the variety of products, the better. Or so we're lead to believe.
Two U.S. researchers have found that choice may be what consumers want, but not what consumers need.
Their study, "Does Choice Mean Freedom and Well Being?" was published last month in the Journal of Consumer Research.
"Americans live in a political, social, and historical context that advances personal freedom, choice, and self-determination above all else," wrote Stanford University researcher Hazel Rose Markus and Swarthmore College researcher Barry Schwartz.
Their argument is that choice can actually be detrimental. And they use pretty strong language to say so.
People can become paralyzed by unlimited choice, and find less satisfaction with their decisions, they say. Choice can also foster a lack of empathy because it can focus people on their own preferences and on themselves at the expense of the preferences of others and of society as a whole.
"The enormous opportunity for growth and self-advancement that flows from unlimited freedom of choice may diminish rather than enhance subjective well-being," they wrote.
"Even in contexts where choice can foster freedom, empowerment, and independence, it is not an unalloyed good. Choice can also produce a numbing uncertainty, depression, and selfishness."
This choice paralysis is not just about products in shops...it extends to so many other areas of life now. Like these:
Which country should I live in?
Which sector should I work in? Government, private sector, community, NGO?
Which partner should I have? Who should I marry?
All of these choices can really mess with your head, making you constantly question if you have made the right choices and what might have been if you had done something different, worked somewhere else, stayed in that other job, not dumped that guy, studied a different degree, studied a different language....
I was pleased to hear that someone is actually studying this phenomenon.
Definitely not our problem in Quebec too. If you want to have choice and cheap price you just have to cross the border. Otherwise no choice but you must pay a lot.
I apply the K.I.S.S. principle to life in general. I build a list, first thing. I know what I like for personal items, second. When the items I like are on sale for a good price, I stock up if they'll keep.
I don't usually find myself tempted by "something new" because I came to the realization that it's most likely the "same stuff, different colour."
If your life is simple and uncluttered, and your creativity is focussed on the things you do instead of in the grocery store, your "hunter-gatherer" day will go a lot more smoothly.
Trust me on that. Oh, and in case you're wondering"? It's...
Keep
It
Simple
Stupid. K.I.S.S. Foolproof.
The problem retailers have is thst for some people, there is NO choice. Many people are blindly loyal to certain labels or brands without wanting anything else, even if it can be proven that a product is identical or even superior to the one they usually buy. Stores that don't stock people's pet brands lose customers and stores that don't stock special varieties are accused of denying consumers options. As trends and beliefs shift (paraben-free, vegan, probiotic) stores are forced to carry new and trendy products alongside old favourites. Maybe we need to limit not just the products in individual stores, but the number of stores as well. If there was less retailer competition people would learn to make do with what was available to them. Or perhaps we should abolish all stores and do everything online.
Oh to have choices. Definitely not our problem North of 60. Big sigh....
Choice is terrible.
This news is kind of like choosing a paint for house walls. A magazine might say that energy and tranquility and creativity are associated with colours x, y, and z. But after debating and comparing, the choice is finally made with all the apprehension of a Who Wants To Be a Millionaire contestant. The creativity must've been sent to the wrong address, you're stressed more than ever, and lie on the couch wondering if a different colour would have made you feel a little bit better to do cleaning. So it's like an exam to get a bar of soap, unavoidably.
An informed consumer is not a paralyzed consumer!
When face with a wall of shampoos, I go for the one that doesn't contain parabens (which have weak estrogenic activity).
When faced with a wall of toothpastes, I go for the one that doesn't have laureth sulfate (which irritates canker sores).
When faced with wall of lightbulbs -- I sigh. Mercury in CFLs, waste heat in incandescents (which is good in the winter but bad in the summer and bad in electric coal-producing areas), and too much heat in halogens.
I might take a while to read the ingredients, but I am never paralyzed in what product I finally choose.
Unfortunately, most corps are lobbying hard against labeling laws -- but even that helps me choose (I try hard not to buy from them).
Finally! Research that says "You're not alone!" I live in Southern California and I cannot tell you how many times I have gone into the grocery store to buy a can of soup or the pharmacy to buy razors and have been so overwhelmed by the vast selection, that I simply give up and leave .... without buying anything!!
One of our local grocery stores stocks more than 30 varieties of honey and 19 different types of sugar on the store shelves!