1. UNIVERSITY OF PORTO
FACULTY OF ECONOMICS
WOULD I BE WRONG TO ALWAYS WANT CHOICE?
HOW MUCH CHOICE IS TOO MUCH CHOICE?
RECONCILE BARRY SCHWARTZ’S VIEW OF HOW MUCH CHOICE IS
DESIRED WITH CHRIS ANDERSON’S VIEW
SUBMITTED TO:
Helena Szrek
SUBMITTED BY:
060400009… Meltem Lale UNAL

3. CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
2. THE LONG TAIL
3. THE PARADISE OF CHOICE
3.1. TOO MUCH CHOICE
3.2. THE PARADOX OF CHOICE
4. THE CONSUMER NEEDS MORE
5. CONCLUSION

4. 1. INTRODUCTION
Last year, when we moved to a new house, the most difficult task for my family was to
choose the color that we’ll paint the walls. In the little book that they gave us, there were
a hundreds of different colors, it was quite impossible to decide. The other day, we went
again to the shop and we said we want to paint to a color near beige. Than, the seller
proposed us five colors and it took ten minutes to decide our color.
When I listened the lectures of Barry Schwartz about how the choices affect out lives, I
remembered this episode, and I tried to think more about this question: “Why more is
less? “
Today, we are living in a market with an explosion of variety. We can say that quite
everything is available. But do the people need to much choice; does too much choice
encourage consumers to buy more?
2.THE LONG TAIL
The term “Long Tail” firstly used by Chris Anderson. In his lectures in the beginning of
2004 and in his article published in “ Wired Magazine” in 2004, he tried to explain the
effects of the Long Tail on today’s and future’s business models.
“Anderson argued that products that are in low demand or have low sales volume can
collectively make up a market share that rivals or exceeds the relatively few current
bestsellers and blockbusters, if the store or distribution channel is large enough”.1
In his article, he gives an example of a book called “Touching the Void”. Even there were
positive comments about the book; the selling of the book wasn’t successful. After ten
years, another book named “Into Thin Air” was published. And this book became a hit.
Suddenly, “Touching the Void” still offered to the market. New edition of the book
published, and the book sellers began to sell the book with “Into Thin Air”. The new
edition of the book “Touching the Void” finished in 14 weeks, even its selling doubled
“Into Thin Air” ’s. How it could be happened? The answer is easy. Because with the
advices of “amazon.com”, the people who like “Into Thin Air” can also like “Touching
the Void. Consumers didn’t refuse this advice and after with the readers’ advices the
selling of the book increased more and more.
Anderson evaluates this like an example of a new economic model which begins to
display its power in the media and entertainment sector. He specifies that, the analyze of
1
Wikipedia

5. the data of sale of Amazon, Netflix, Rhapsody, iTunes and the other firms similar show
that the world of digital entertainment in the future will be so different of today’s market.
Previously and largely today, the world of entertainment that we have passes in a
physical environment, but has two limitations.
The first is the difficulty to find a spectator. I mean, a film to began to projection have to
attract a certain number of spectators, or a cd to stay in a same store have to reach some
increase in its selling in one year. Anyway, the retailers want to keep the products which
have sufficient demand naturally.
Other difficulty that the physical world brings is directly related with the constraint
physical. I mean that every store have a limited number of shelves for example. The
entertainment sector in 20th century, by creating hits, found a easy solution to this limit.
This economy composed by hits is a production of a generation where there is no
possibility to provide every thing for everyone. A product of a generation where there is
not enough shelves for every book, not enough cinemas for every film, not enough TV
channels for every programs. It means a world of limits, of constraints. But now, with
online distribution and online retails, we pass to a world of abundances.
Now, in the world, people don’t satisfy with hits, everyone has their own preferences,
separating from this common way. The people now want satisfy these different
preferences which are not hits. Hundreds of products in the retails’ web sites increase
more these different wants of consumers. The reality of the new world is that everything
can be available.
“Itunes offers nearly forty times as much selection as Wal-Mart. Netflix has eighteen
times as many DVDs as Blockbuster. Amazon has almost forty times as many books as a
Borders superstore”2 .In this point, we began to speak about Long Tail. According to
Anderson, the sum of the products which are not hits which are on the long tail, can
create a larger market than the hits.
In Long Tail, is predicted that; like there is not the inventory costs or the limit of shelves;
the sale of each product being on long tail wouldn’t be less than the profit brought by a
hit product.
3.THE PARADISE OF CHOICE
2
The Long Tail, Chris Anderson

6. 3.1.TOO MUCH CHOICE
Previously, there were limited choices from food till detergent. But today there is a
abundance of products. In 2003, according to statistics of Mintil International’s Global
New Product database, 26 893 new food and household products were introduced 3
Barry Schwartz, writer of the book “Paradox of Choice” and an American psychologist,
mentions in his lectures the significant increase of choices with remarkable examples. He
talks about the 85 types of crackers in a market that he entered. Even that it was not a big
market, there were 285 types of cookies, 13 types of energy drinks and 65 types of juices.
He denotes that is impossible that consumers can perceive all these choices
3.2.THE PARADOX OF CHOICE
The increase on types of products makes the competition between firms focusing more to
the quality and price. At the end consumers tend more to products cheaper and with more
quality.
With the increase of choices that consumers face on, it become more confusing the
process of deciding and the factors which affect this process.
Too much choice is confusing. But like Schwartz explains in his lectures, our choices are
not limited with the products. With technology which enable us to work every time force
us every moment of our life to choose. In every moment of our life, in our mind, we
always try to choose. Even in a little coffee break, when we stop to work, we need to
choose if we want to drink a coffee or a cappuccino or any other kind of coffee. The life
transforms a matter of choice. And after all, too much choices become not only confusing
also oppressive.
Barry Schwartz gives a example of a study of University of Colombia. The observation
passes in a supermarket. They offer different types of jam to people and also $1000 to
buy a jar of jam. Firstly they offer six tastes of jam, than twenty-four. And the result
prove their hypothesis. 30% of people tasted from these 6 tastes of jam went to buy jam
by the way only 3% persons went buy jam who tasted these 24 tastes of jam. The more
researchers offered, the less consumers bought. The reason is clear. Because when there
is too much choice, people have difficulties to choose. What Schwartz called the “
Paradox of Choice”.
3
The Long Tail, Chris Anderson

7. Schwartz explains the effects of every choice on consumers in two parts. There are two
negatives effects of every choice on consumers. Firstly, when there are a lot of choices,
people don't know what to choose. Like the example of study of jam.
Secondly, consumers can be less satisfied at the end of their choice that they would be if
there were less choices. Is what we call opportunity cost. And when there are a lot of
choices, the opportunity cost increase, because there would be most products with more
attraction. So people can be easily regret their choice. And this cause that people blame
themselves.
The increase of choices of products also affect the retails. It brings problems in inventory
management and the management in inside of the store. The retails generally choose the
products that they will take for their shelves according to the demand of consumers. They
focus more to the products which affect positive to selling and the profit. The decisions
making by these criterion become more difficult with increasing choices of products. The
most important problem is that the area of shelves are limited.
The Paradox of Choice brings the idea that when there are a lot of choices, the life of
people get harder. Schwartz finds the solution for this problem by suggesting people to
satisfy and not maximize, try to limit our demands. If you can not limit yourself, a lot of
choice doesn't bring anymore freedom and you will decrease satisfaction.
4.CONSUMER NEEDS MORE
But the problem which appears is if more choices are not good for people, why the
companies always produce more and more types of products? This was a little confusing.
We can try to understand this paradox by evaluating now the results of study of jam of
the University of Colombia and compare it with the unexpected increase of sale of the
book “Touching the Void”.
According to the study of the University of Colombia, we reached that when the
researchers offered more choices, there were less customers who bought jam.
And when the book “Touching the Void” was sold with an other book “Into Thin Air”
which was a hit, the book’s sale suddenly increased and even doubled the sale of the
book “Into Thin Air”.
When we analyze now, with the result of our first example, we can say that when there
are a lot of choice, people have troubles to choose and they can not decide. With the
result of our second example, we can say that with the advices of “amazon.com”, the
people who like “Into Thin Air” can also like “Touching the Void, the sale of a book can
increase rapidly.

8. Today’s market of abundance, we see that the choices are not enough. The consumers
also need to know what they want. The consumer needs to be guided. Is that
“alapage.com”. This site offers consumer a abundance of choices, also create “best-
sellers”, “top10 lists”, readers advices part, blogs which help consumer to find what they
want. You can find books classified by type, by author, by prices.
Too much choice is not a bad thing, even is better for consumer. But we realize that the
choices are not enough. The consumer needs information. To know more about choices,
the ideas of the other consumers who had the same choices before.
5.CONCLUSION
A garden of a house is always different than natural lands. The two have flowers. But the
difference is hidden that a garden’s flowers have been chosen.
The concept “ability of choose” which is the separation at the end between culture and
nature, today’s life cause a big depression in people.
Everyday, the number of people going to a psychologist increases because people now
are confused about what they want in a big abundance of choices. Like Barry Schwartz
noticed in his lectures, at the end, the doctor also ask you a question after saying you all
positive and negative sides of your choices: “What do you prefer?” and at the end you
still have to decide.
More choice encourages people to buy more. I think that consumers have to be conscious
of this abundance of choices, that we are guided generally by the companies like “
alapage.com” or similar companies, but at the end we have to be attentive, to observe all
choices and be conscious of what we want to not loose ourselves in this abundance of
choices. We have to be conscious that we have all a limit.