THERE IS NO DIRECT CORRELATION BETWEEN CHOICE AND PURCHASE BEHAVIOUR A study at Columbia University found that when confronted with a selection of 6 jams, 30% made a purchase, whereas when presented with 24 jams only 3% made a purchase. While contrary to much conventional wisdom and the behaviour of many supermarkets this finding is […]

THERE IS NO DIRECT CORRELATION BETWEEN CHOICE AND PURCHASE BEHAVIOUR A study at Columbia University found that when confronted with a selection of 6 jams, 30% made a purchase, whereas when presented with 24 jams only 3% made a purchase. While contrary to much conventional wisdom and the behaviour of many supermarkets this finding is entirely consistent with that of many other studies. I would argue that it is also consistent with our personal experiences. I would argue that most of us: Prefer a menu with half a dozen options for each course that a Chinese restaurant style of menu with countless choices. Get confused when presented with a plethora of health insurance options – in part explaining the growth in online services making the comparisons for you. When seeking a partner would prefer a small number of high probability options ahead of an unlimited number of options about which…