The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz

From the bookshelf of Martin Cole, Planner, Grey London

Economic theory, and much political dogma, suggests that freedom of choice is a good thing.

However at the same time, we all know the burden of "overchoice" too many things to think about in too little time. This is the paradox of the title. In short, if choice is so good, how come eliminating it can reduce stress and anxiety and make us happy?

But there are also some unexpected implications for brands.

Take a piece of research about sampling jams in a supermarket. One Saturday they are given six jams to taste, the next Saturday they can taste from a range of 24. More choice, more likely to find one you like? Wrong. On the day that they can sample from just six jams, people are roughly 10 times as likely to actually proceed and buy a jam.

What does that say for market segmentation and developing sub-categories?

This article first appeared in Brand Strategy, the monthly, thought-leading marketing magazine. www.brandstrategy.co.uk/subs