Or is less just less?
The authors of the meta-analysis suggest that the difficulties associated with making choices might be more related to the complexity of the choice task and the cognitive decision-making factors than simply to the number of choices. Other authors have suggested particular underlying factors. The claim of choice overload based strictly on the number of choices seems both capture and oversimplify reality, so the verdict for this claim is “busted.”
Results from follow up studies explore various aspects of factors that impact consumer choice and consumer perception of choice difficulty. Specifically, we investigate how retail choice architecture and effort required to acquire information necessary for decision making affects consumer perception of choice diversity and complexity. We further explore consumer testing methods that reveal aspect related to expected vs. actual product liking, expected vs. actual product perception, and how these gaps influence repurchase decisions among various subgroups of consumers.
Colonna, A.E., & Castura, J.C. (2019). Or is less just less? In: Consumer choice, not a new Nicholas Sparks novel, rather how we observe and measure matters (presented by McMahon, K.M., Barnett, S.M., Castura, J.C., Colonna, A.E., Bowen, A.J., Gallardo, R.K.). Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting and Food Expo. 2-5 June. New Orleans, LA, USA. (Symposium Oral).