The Jam Study is one of the most famous experiments in consumer psychology, and new research to be published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology supports the Jam Study’s controversial conclusion; offering consumers less choice can be good for sales. Critically, the study reveals when precisely offering less choice may enhance your sales.
If you’re not familiar with the original Jam Study, it’s here. Basically, the study, which was conducted at upscale Bay-area supermarket Draeger’s Market by psychologists Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper, found that consumers were 10 times more likely to purchase jam on display when the number of jams available was reduced from 24 to 6. Less choice, more sales. More choice, fewer sales. Weird, huh?
This phenomenon, replicated in a variety of product categories from chocolate to financial services to speed dating, has come to be known as ‘Choice Overload’ or the ‘Paradox of Choice‘. It’s a paradox because rationally speaking the more choice you offer your customers, the more sales you should make simply because you’ll be satisfying more needs better. But research has showed that choice actually can be demotivating and get in the way of sales. Why?
Psychologically, the Paradox of Choice is not so much of a paradox because the more options you give people, the more time and effort they have to invest in making a choice – something they may not be prepared to do. Moreover, giving people a smorgasbord of options puts a psychological burden on them because what you are actually doing is giving them more opportunity to make the wrong choice, regret it and blame themselves.
Nevertheless, the Jam Study and follow-up studies has remained controversial; surely giving your customers more choice must be a good thing, right? Indeed, a meta-analysis of studies in 2010 found that the inverse link between choice and purchase likelihood is far from consistent.
But now a new study, ‘Choice overload: A conceptual review and meta-analysis‘ by Kellogg researchers at Northwestern University Alexander Chernev and Ulf Böckenholt (and Joseph Goodman) has re-analaysed the data from 99 Paradox of Choice studies and isolated when reducing choices for your customers is most likely to boost sales
- When people want to make a quick and easy choice (effort-minimizing goal)
- When making the right choice matters/you are selling complex products (the decision task is difficult)
- When you show options that are difficult to compare (greater choice set complexity)
- When your customers are unclear about their preferences (higher preference uncertainty)
So the Jam Study strikes back; more choice can harm sales – but probably only when one or more of these four criteria are met.
Thank you! I’ve seen this study and the project. It was interesting to read the analysis of your work.
Hi Stacy, I really enjoy reading your blog and these have been some of my favorites this year as well. I am fairly new to DIY projects in general … We recently bought a house and are slowly repainting interior. I have done a couple furniture makeovers and I’m currently working on two dressers for my kids rooms. I noticed that you highly recommend the Home Rite paint sprayer. I’m wondering if it might be worth it for me to invest in that for furniture, the six panel interior doors that we have on each of our rooms and closets. I’ve also thought of refinishing the wood cabinets in the bathrooms and kitchen. Will the sprayer that you use and have recommended be good for these purposes? Do you feel that it is easy to use and easy to clean? Do you clean it in between each used or can you save it for the next coat paint?
Hi! Love this.
Just FYI, links to The Jam Study don’t work.
It’s a paradox because rationally speaking the more choice you offer your customers, the more sales you should make simply because you’ll be satisfying more needs better. I’m wondering if it might be worth it for me to invest in that for furniture, the six-panel interior doors that we have on each of our rooms and closets.
Hello
I really enjoy reading your blog and these have been some of my favorites this year as well. I am fairly new to DIY projects in general … We recently bought a house and are slowly repainting interior. I have done a couple furniture makeovers and I’m currently working on two dressers for my kids rooms.
Tim Hartford covers the topic in his new book, The Data Detective. The many reproductions have demonstrated that, on average, the described effect does not exist. It is of course disappointing that studies disproving a popular theory have such difficulty getting published and are never given the same attention.
I love to eat fruit so this is a great product for me!
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