0000000000070867
AUTHOR
Reutskaja E
How much choice is "good enough"? Moderators of information and choice overload
In today’s world, people face an abundance of information and a great number of choices both in important domains, such as health care, retirement, and education, and in less important domains, such as the choice of breakfast cereal or chocolate. Choice overload and information overload have strong negative effects on many important decision- making aspects such as processing and using information, the motivation to act, the quality of choices, and post- choice feelings, which are discussed in Chapter 43 in this volume in more detail. However, small choice and information sets are not always optimal either. Several variables– – such as information usage, decision accuracy, motivation to cho…
Choose as many as you wish: Consumer satisfaction and purchase rate increase when choice from large assortments is flexible as opposed to constrained
Five studies across a range of domains show that consumers who can choose as many alternatives as they wish (“flexible choice”), report more positive affective states and purchase more than those who have to choose a pre-defined quantity of products (“constrained” choice). The benefits of choice “flexibility” are stronger in large than small assortments, and are replicated in field and laboratory settings: when people chose cookies after a meal in a restaurant, possible dating partners on a simulated dating website, energy bars from descriptions, and soaps for personal use. The findings have theoretical implications for advancing choice-overload research, as well as practical implications f…