An Analysis on the Impact of Choice Overload to Consumer Decision Paralysis

As consumers make purchase decisions, they often encounter a large number of options from which they base their choices. Traditional theories such as the Rational Choice theory imply that the more options involved, the more beneficial for the consumer. However, recent studies suggest otherwise. One such study is that of Choice Overload, a phenomenon in which individuals encounter difficulty when they are presented with too many options. Some studies show that Choice Overload causes paralysis in analysis in different industries. Decision Paralysis is the abandonment of making a decision due to overanalysis. The paper focused on proving if Decision Paralysis would take place when there is Choice Overload by analyzing whether the different antecedents of Choice Overload, namely Decision Task Difficulty, Choice Set Complexity, Preference Uncertainty, Decision Goal, and Asymmetric Information, would be affected by the number of options available. A survey was used to measure the different variables, and the data were analyzed through logistic regression and ordinary least squares regression. The results of this study indicate that Decision Task Difficulty and Asymmetric Information directly impact Choice Overload, which then contributes to the high probability of the occurrence of Decision Paralysis. It is difficult for consumers to choose when more options are offered; thus, abandoning their purchasing decision.

EXPRESS: Choice Deprivation, Choice Overload, and Satisfaction With Choices Across Six Nations

Whether consumers have too little, too much, or the ideal amount of choice can have profound consequences. The present research explores patterns of choice deprivation (having less choice than desired) and choice overload (having more choice than desired) across six choice domains in six countries that together provide home to about half the human population (Brazil, China, India, Japan, Russia, and the U.S.; combined N = 7,436). In most domains in most countries, choice deprivation was the norm—only in the U.S. was choice overload sometimes commonly reported. Deprivation was also more strongly related to decreased satisfaction with choices than was overload, suggesting that choice deprivation can be both more common and more consequential than overload. The present research has implications for “inverted-U” theories of consumer choice experiences and underlines the need for more diverse samples, including cross-cultural samples, in research on choice deprivation and overload.

Choice, Purchase Decision and Post-Purchase Dissonance: The Social Media Perspective

Social media tools have emerged as an imperative source of information for customers. However, the relationship between information volume on social media and consumer choice quality remains blurred in literature. The study sought to examine the relationship between choice overload on social media and product choice quality, and how choice quality influences post-purchase dissonance. The study employed a positivist research paradigm and an explanatory design to examine the relationship between the various constructs. Using a purposive sampling method, Responses from 249 respondents were quantitatively analyzed. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized. The outcome revealed a direct significant effect of choice overload on poor choice quality and a strong positive association between choice quality and post-purchase dissonance using social media tools. The distinctiveness of the study adds to the existing literature by extending the current understanding of post-purchase dissonance and consumer behavior in general.

The Role of Cause Involvement and Assortment Size on Decision Difficulty via Communal Relationships

Social enterprises aim to achieve both social and economic goals by reaching broader consumer segments through extensive assortments, but research into how this product proliferation strategy affects consumer response is scarce. In the current research we examine how consumers judge social enterprises providing large product assortments. Three experiments show that choice overload (i.e., having a decision difficulty when faced with many options) can be reversed among target consumers of social enterprises—specifically those whose involvement in a social cause is high. Because more-involved consumers view large assortments of cause-related products as an indicator of the company’s commitment to addressing social issues, they identify with the company and thereby form communal relationships. Thus, the consumers’ focus shifts from comparing options to helping the company, leading to reduced decision difficulty. The findings contribute to existing research on assortment size and the understanding of the information consumers use to evaluate the company’s commitment to social causes.

Tele-dermatology Recruitment during COVID-19: An Application of Behavioral Economic Principles

In the ever-changing state of healthcare during the recent COVID-19 pandemic, our system has innovated rapidly using tele-dermatology in acute and chronic patient management. To combat barriers such as low patient enrollment, behavioral economics theories were implemented. Underlying principles in choice architecture, include choice inertia, the way in which humans favor the status quo; and choice overload, where humans fail to make an optimal choice when presented with multiple options. Using these theories, we modified support-staff scripts in our dermatology clinic used when rescheduling appointments. Our baseline script group allowed for patients to choose from a list of options whereas our improvement script applied behavioral economic principles and used tele-dermatology as the default. This quality improvement initiative was employed with the hypothesis that the “improvement” group would lead to an increase in tele-dermatology enrollment over an 8-week period. Our results are clinically significant and demonstrate the effect behavioral economics has on patient enrollment in tele-dermatology, which will serve as an asset during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Empty the Shopping Cart? The Effect of Shopping Cart Item Sorting on Online Shopping Cart Abandonment Behavior

The vigorous development of e-commerce has led to online retailers or platforms increasing the capacity of online shopping carts. A large number of products are added to the online shopping cart, but they are not “emptied.” The resulting behavior of products being stuck in the shopping cart is called the “shopping cart abandonment behavior.” Previous literature has focused on the large number of antecedent variables that affect shopping cart abandonment behavior in the pre-decision stage of online shopping. This previous research has studied how to reduce shopping cart abandonment behavior from the perspective of consumers. By focusing on the post-decision-making stage of shopping, this research proposes to sort the products in a chronological order (ascending and descending order) after the products are added to the shopping cart and reduce shopping cart abandonment behavior through the intermediary of forgetfulness and choice overload. We use an exploratory study and two laboratory experiments to reveal the above intermediary mechanism. Our results show that online shopping cart abandonment generally occurs in shopping carts on all major platforms. Forgetting and shopping cart page rendering may be the reasons that lead to shopping cart abandonment behavior. In the case of targeted tasks, ascending order has a significant impact on abandonment behavior, choice overload mediated this effect.