How to Make Choosing Easier
Sheena Iyengar’s TED video How to make choosing easier takes a
detailed look at the effects of choice overload on consumers and provides
solutions businesses can implement to mitigate the problem. Ms. Iyengar and colleagues conducted a few
experiments to determine if the number of choices involved in making a decision
has an effect on the outcome of our decisions.
Her experiments were simple in design, but the results were consistent
and conclusive. The number of choices absolutely
has an effect on our decisions (Iyengar, 2011).
In fact, the research showed that too many choices overwhelms us. When we can no longer effectively keep track
of the comparison data for each choice and making a choice is difficult,
frustrating, or simply not possible, we have reached choice overload. According to Ms. Iyengar, “choice overload is one
of the biggest modern-day choosing problems we have” (2011).
Ms. Iyengar further explained that there are three specific
and negative consequences associated with choice overload. First, we may actually disengage from the
process and actually not choose any option even if our best judgement tells us
we should. Secondly, if we do make a
choice, we are much more likely to make a poor quality choice. Lastly, if we do make a choice we are less likely
to be satisfied even if we made the right choice (Iyengar, 2011). These negative consequences resulting from
businesses offering more and more choices can be avoided if businesses are
willing to a make four simple changes. Implementing
the changes will have a positive effect on and benefit both the customer and
the business. The changes Ms. Iyengar
discussed are; 1) cut 2) concretization 3) categorization and 4) condition for
complexity (2011).
Cut simply means reduce the available choices that the consumer
has sort through to make a choice. The
benefit to the customer is an “improved choosing experience” (Iyengar, 2011). I would choose to say the consumer choice is
faster, easier, and less frustrating. By
offering fewer choices the business’s sales will increase and the overall costs
will decrease as less inventory is ordered, stocked, maintained, and
inventoried.
Concretization refers to making the choices vivid and real in
the consumers mind. One of the ways to accomplish
concretization is to clearly indicate the consequences associated with each
choice. Basically, anything that clearly
illustrates why a choice is worth making over the other choices is
concretization (Iyengar, 2011). A simple
example would be, clearly marking the prices for each choice. This provides the consequence for making one
choice over the others. Dramatic
photographs, illustrations, and diagrams are another way to make a choice more real
and therefor, easier for a consumer to pick or pass.
Categorization is beneficial to business because consumers can
process more categories than choices. Individual
choices do not have to be cut, but they have to be logically categorized in a
way that is meaningful to the consumer (Iyengar, 2011). Magazines and books categorized by content like
fitness, crafts, do it yourself, cooking, gardening, and self-help would be good
categories to separate magazines, but categories should not be so specific that
it reduces the number of choices to only one or two.
Ms. Iyengar’s fourth simple recommendation to business is ‘condition
for complexity’. If having to make
choices numerous times before coming to a decision, the arrangement of each
choice is important. By monitoring the customer’s
engagement, it is possible to determine who is engaged and who is bored. In her experiment, when the choices were
arranged from the choice with the highest number of options to the lowest, they
were, almost from the beginning, selecting whatever option came up as
default. When the order of the choices
were reversed (low options to high) the consumer chose from the available
options and stuck with it to the end.
The technique allows the consumer to ease into the process and slowly
learn to make choices as they progress.
By the end they evaluated the numerous options and made their selection. Starting slowly and easing them up in numbers
of options actually conditioned the consumer for complexity. They learned how to choose even though one
choice had no relationship with the other options (Iyengar, 2011).
Personally, I was surprised by the research findings on the
number of choices. I have always claimed
a preference for more choices so that I could compare price, quality, brand,
function, and features. And most of the
time, I do. I was taught to look at all
the information before making a decision.
I believed a reasonable assumption was more choices would result in a better
or the best choice being made. However, Ms.
Iyengar insists that, in this case, “less is more” (Iyengar, 2011). This caused me to reflect on some of the
choices I have made, I realized that when I am planning a purchase, I actually limit
my options to two or three before comparing details and making my decision. Sometimes I limit my choice to certain brands,
other times I am more concerned with price, and sometimes I am looking for specific
features, but I consistently limit my choices as long as I give myself time to
plan. In circumstances where
pre-planning is not possible and the options are many, I can easily see myself
staring at the options and agonizing far too long over which option I should
pick. I am guilty of getting lost in the
choices especially when I have seldom or never bought a product before or if I
am purchasing an expensive item such as a vacation package, furniture, or appliances. If I find myself staring at the options and going back and forth between products, I determine if I have to have it right away. If so, I pick a brand I am familiar with. If not, I walk away. The internet has helped me a
great deal because I can and do research it at home and make my decision before
I leave the house.
If Toshiba had incorporated ‘condition for complexity’ or not
given me the option to ‘build my own’ laptop at all, I would have bought my
computer the first time I visited their site, would have received my computer
two weeks earlier, and would have spent two hundred dollars less. But they did not and neither did I. I needed a new laptop and I wanted another Toshiba. As I looked through
their site, they had several machines that I liked but none had all the
features I wanted. I finally found one
that was a fair compromise between speed, storage, memory, screen size, and
price. Then I saw the ‘build your own’ option. I should first say, I had no business building my own laptop. The selection options were in no particular
order and were confusing. There were
about fifteen decisions with choices ranging from one or two to eight or so and
some had if/then conditions. I tried to
go through the selections but found myself scanning all of the selections
without choosing anything. So I decided to give it some more thought. After a day or two I went back to the site with
the same results. Finally, I did some research which
helped me get through the selections and I ordered my machine. After checkout, I realized that when you
build your own computer, it is assembled in and shipped from China which added
over two weeks to the delivery. The
build your own layout and functionality definitely affected my ability to choose
the options to build my own computer. The beginning selections were complex and
riddled with options that were affected by later choices. The last choice was for the screen and had
only one option to add touchscreen. They
definitely needed to be organized and clarified. I ended up with a very nice computer that I like
very much and use every day. Looking back on it, after
my second failed attempt to build my own computer (or earlier), I could have
easily gone back to the machine I picked out earlier. I would have ordered it that
day, received it in two business days, and payed less money. My computer skills
would never have noticed the difference.
I overbuilt my machine and it has capability that I do not use, but I do
not regret my purchase. I got a nice
machine at a good price, but simple math tells me I made the wrong
decision. Some of it can be attributed to
Toshiba not conditioning me for complexity, but not much.
I enjoyed Ms. Iyengar’s presentation. While the findings were different than I expected,
they make sense. I came to realize that
I was cutting options on my own by doing research before making my final
decision. I believe I can make my
decisions easier by researching all of my out of the norm decisions beforehand.
Concretization would also help improve the decisions I make. I have a tendency to be a bit impulsive when
I want something. Being patient and waiting
on the decision until I get a full understanding of all of the options would definitely
help. I think the example of building my
own computer fits better into concretization than complexity. Most likely my failure to get a full
understanding made the experience more complicated than it should have been.
Reference:
Iyengar,
Sheena, (2011). Sheena Iyengar: How to make choosing easier. TEDSalon NY2011. Retrieved from: http://www.ted.com/talks/sheena_iyengar_choosing_what_to_choose
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