Too much choice can overwhelm, heightening feelings that we've not made the best choice, whatever we choose. This is especially the case for those unfamiliar with a product range or market. And with every choice added, this lack of confidence worsens.

At the same time, a sensible amount of well-designed choice allows companies to provide consistently for a range of clearly-distinct tastes. For instance, offering one option for newcomers and another couple for pro customers would allow people to both easily get started and progress with your range.

For new product ranges

Set a high bar around expectations of just how much value each product adds to the range. How can you design a carefully-considered range of choices to create clarity, ease of comparison and therefore purchase?

For existing product ranges

Consider how your range is currently designed? How many options are there? Could it be simplified in any way? Even reducing the range by a small amount means that you're having consumers do less comparative cognitive processing.

Remember that a failure by your product team to do the hard work of simplifying bewildering choice once means your consumers will be doing this work every single time they see your range, increasing analysis paralysis, reducing choice confidence and ultimately leading consumers to associate your brand with confusion and stress. Then, when a competitor comes along with a clear set of choices, bewildered consumers will jump ship.

Don't let this happen to you. Offer a small number of choices that are distinct and easy to understand.