Consumer Hyperchoice

 "A condition where the large number of available options forces us to make repeated choices that may drain psychological energy and diminish our abilities to make smart decisions^[1]." 

Stages in Consumer Decision Making:

1. Problem recognition

2. Information search

3. Evaluation of alternatives 

4. Product choice

5. Outcome^[2]

How choices can be BAD:

"The average American supermarket now stocks more than 30,000 different products, three times as many as 30 years ago^[3]."

Decisions Cause:

Frustration

Fatigue

Regret^[4] 

An American study on decision making looked at prisoners who were eligible for parole and the cases that were heard in the morning were seven times more likely to be released than those heard later in the day. This is because after each decision, your brain becomes more fatigued so if you need to make a big decision, it should be done early in the day when your brain is working best^[5].

Effects on kids having to many choices: 

Why less is more:

"When consumers face a large selection of items, they have to process a large amount of information, which can cause problems. People worry so much about buying the wrong item that they may opt out of the whole arduous decision-making process by not buying anything at all. Or, when they do buy something, foregone options linger in memory, causing post-purchase regret^[6]."

Eventhough you may think that more options are better, research has shown that consumers often appreciate less options over more^[7].