Are a lot of choices for the consumers always a smart marketing strategy? Apparently yes as the traditionalist American marketing Gurus may have us believe. But research tells us otherwise. Sheena Iyenger, Assoc Prof at Columbia University, did research on the affect of increasing the flavors of jams in a grocery store and its sales figures. Similarly the satisfaction from a choice of the same Godiva chocolate seemed to be more when taken out of a pack of 6 rather than a pack of 30! To explore consumer responses to extensive options, we conducted a field investigation in an upscale grocery store, Draeger's, in Menlo Park, Calif. On two consecutive Saturdays, a tasting booth for Wilkin & Sons exotic jams was arranged. As consumers passed the tasting booth, they encountered a display with either six or 24 different jams. We observed and calculated the number of people who stopped at the tasting booth as well as the number of people who chose to purchase the jam in question. The results are striking. They demonstrate that although extensive choice is initially more enticing than limited choice, limited choice is ultimately more motivating. In fact, 60 percent of the passersby approached the table in the extensive-choice condition, as compared to only 40 percent in the limited-choice condition. However, 30 percent of the consumers who encountered the limited selection actually purchased a jam, whereas only 3 percent of those exposed to the extensive selection made a purchase. Read more