TOO MANY CHOICES?
A large supermarket today may sell more than 30,000 different products, and a single shelf can hold fifty kinds of breakfast cereal. Most of us are pleased about this. After all, the more options there are, the better our chances of finding exactly what we want. Yet many shoppers say that they leave these huge stores feeling exhausted. For a long time, this was blamed on crowded aisles and long lines at the checkout. Now, however, studies point to other reasons as well.(lines 1–5)
The most important one is that every decision demands mental effort. Standing in front of fifty cereals, we cannot compare all of them at the same time, because the brain holds only a few details in mind at once. So our eyes keep moving from box to box. "Each small choice uses up a little energy," says psychologist Dr. Maya Collins. "After a hundred of them, you are worn out."(lines 6–10)
A simple experiment shows what happens next. At a food market, researchers set up a table where visitors could taste different teas. On some days the table offered 24 kinds, and on other days only six. The bigger table attracted more people, but only 3% of them bought a package. At the small table, 30% did. Researchers also phoned the buyers a week later. Those who had chosen from just six teas were happier with their purchase than those who had faced 24.(lines 11–15)
After a long day full of decisions, a menu with forty dishes can feel like one more test. No wonder so many of us walk into our usual café and order the same sandwich as last time. This habit saves effort, but it has a price: we may never discover something we would enjoy even more. For example, in one survey, most people admitted that they had tasted fewer than three of the twenty dishes at their favorite restaurant, even after years of eating there.(lines 16–20)
So what can we do? Collins suggests deciding what you need before you enter a store. "Make a short list at home, and then compare no more than two or three products," she says. "As soon as you find one that is good enough, stop looking." Shoppers who follow this advice usually spend less time in the store, and they enjoy the visit much more.(lines 21–24)