Blog 2 - Consumer Decision Making

Barry Schwarz believes a unique theory. It is his opinion that we as consumers have too many options. We live in a society that seeks freedom and by having numerous options we believe we are free. However, according to Schwarz, freedom is good within certain boundaries. In his lecture, he states that too many options paralyses the consumer. He goes on to explain that we need a ‘fishbowl’ in which there are a certain number of choices within a set container. While freedom is good, too much choice paralyses us. We fear we will regret our decision, we allow opportunity costs effect our satisfaction, and our expectations are so high they cannot be met. Based on my own experience and Schwarz’s lecture, I agree with the argument he is making. Consumers are so bombarded from every angle that they aren’t sure what they really want anymore. The line drawn between what they need and what they want starts to become blurry and it is harder than ever to find exactly what you think you need.
“Get Closer to Your Customers by Understanding How They Make Choices” talks about the approach companies are using to listen to their customers’ voices and in turn use that voice to market their products and tailor their sales pitch. This article also demonstrates how customers are not attuned to what they actually want. They might say they want one thing but then change their minds and choose something else. This proves that Schwarz’s theory might be on the right track. Consumers believe they want a certain product but when it comes time to purchase that product they see a whole set of alternatives and change their minds. Product descriptions and added promotions easily and quickly force consumers off their original purchase path. They start looking at their choices and evaluate them according to what they think they need most. Even the timing of a purchase and the quantity in which the consumer is purchasing helps to sway what the consumer ends up taking home.
I agree with Schwarz and believe the article helps to further prove his theory. With the internet and other developing technologies we have billions and billions of choices right at our fingertips. We set out to find a product, realize the infinite amount of things we can get instead, and end up more confused than when we set out on our mission. Worst of all, we are wasting more time trying to buy objects because we don’t want to regret our final decision. We are tricking ourselves into believing that we have to make a ‘best choice’ when really there is no right choice. It is the way we choose to evaluate each product in relation to the other products and our individual situation. Something as simple as buying toilet paper takes 10 minutes, but what ARE we looking for? Each product is essentially the same, performs the same task, yet we debate in our mind, fight with ourselves because the choices are truly endless. It’s not clear what we really need, nor what we really want, and at the end of the day we finally just pick what we determine as the best option. Marketers now have the opportunity to market to even the smallest niche groups through the internet. For example, Amazon is able to offer more books to their customers than any other source. While it seems fantastic, consumers are now left with the challenge of sorting through the endless space and find what they are looking for. Choices essentially give us freedom, but it is my opinion that choices with no boundaries hinder the consumer decision making process.