The Pen | Wouter Hof

Choice stress

If there is one word that is synonymous with the times we live in, it is ‘choice stress. This word describes the pressure a consumer experiences when he or she has to choose from a plethora of options. Inseparable from choice stress is ’the fear of missing out,‘ the fear of not having seen all the options. Those suffering from choice stress usually go home feeling dissatisfied when the choice is made, nicely described by the term cognitive dissonance. 

E-commerce has long since found a solution to this, by ‘funneling’ consumers. When an online shopper enters a web shop, the immense choice available is reduced to only a few options that are within one's field of interest. Thanks to online profiling and real-time measurement of interests, the selection is limited to items that one is reasonably certain to like. 

Even in a well-stocked awning showroom, consumers can experience choice stress. Put yourself in the shoes of the awning customer for a moment. The question and answer game between salesperson and customer usually works well to arrive at a particular model of blinds. After all, the purpose for which the customer wants to purchase the blinds quickly becomes clear with a few simple questions. For example, is it about cooling down indoors or enjoying shaded outdoor living? The closing item of the sale is then the selection of the awning fabric. 

As the company behind the canvases, we know better than anyone else that when the customer is left to his or her own devices by parking him or her at the table with a cup of coffee and five sample books, he or she soon has to choose from hundreds of designs. Then choice stress can occur, with the result that, even if a fabric is designated, the customer still goes home with an indefinable feeling. It is therefore not unusual for this unsure consumer to return later to ask if the fabric color can still be changed. 

In your showroom, as a salesperson, you yourself are that ‘funnel. With some clever questions, you can identify the buyer's area of interest. Then, based on your reasoned advice for the customer, you can make a preselection in canvases. Leave the rest of the books fine where they are, because what one does not know, one does not miss. The result will be that the customer confidently chooses from the selection, goes home satisfied and proudly tells neighbors, family and friends how nice shopping with you is. 

As I write this I am sitting in the south of France enjoying the coolness of the morning. Well with the knowledge that we will soon be visiting another picturesque market selling artisan products. Now just hope that the fruit grower there is selling not twenty, but three kinds of jam. If there's one thing I don't need on vacation, it's stress about choices.

Wouter Hof, director swela