The Paradox of Choice

Barry Schwartz expresses some very interesting points in his presentation on “The Paradox of Choice”. Schwartz reveals his feelings on the amount of choices consumers have to make in today’s society. The overall theme of the address is that because of the large amount of choices consumers make, consumers are not happier, but actually more dissatisfied.

I believe this message presents a very valid argument. However, I do not agree that this paradox happens in all instances. In my opinion, there are certain times when people like to have choices and there are times when people dislike multiple options. I also believe that in some situations, whether a consumer enjoys the many choices or dislikes them relates to the generation in which that consumer is a part of. I will give an example that, of course, relates to food. Since, I love to eat, I am hungry, and I am constantly thinking about food, this example comes to mind. One day while I was at home for the Winter break, I decided to go pick up sandwiches for lunch for my family and I. The options were Subway, Which Wich, and a hometown Deli called Daviss Deli. My mom and dad quickly expressed that they wanted Daviss Deli. They both said that they like Daviss better because they make the sandwiches with certain things on each sandwich and you have no decisions to make. The turkey sandwich comes with mayo and pepper jack cheese, the Poboy comes with three meats, and a special relish sauce. All sandwiches are predetermined; there are no decisions to be made and that was why they chose to eat there.

However, I, a member of Generation Y, happen to enjoy the many choices in food outlets. In fact, one of my favorite places to eat at, Freebirds, is the ultimate in choices. You must decide if you want a flour, wheat, cayenne, or spinach tortilla; and that is just the first choice! Then there is the meat, the veggies, the beans, and the sauces. In terms of the food industry, it seems to me that places with so many choices have just in the last decade began to really flourish. This may possibly be indicative of the age of the people who are now eating at those places. This would prove that age might be a factor in determining the level of appreciation one receives when he or she has many choices.

Now to change from food to the rest of consumer products, I do not think that having many options is always a good idea, no matter your age. Sometimes we as consumers just want to buy a product and be done with it. Schwartz states that because there are so many alternatives, consumers feel disappointed when they are not 100% satisfied, but that if there were just one or two options then they would understand if they are not completely satisfied. Schwartz again makes a very good point. I have actually been a victim of this paradox when purchasing a pair of jeans.

Like Schwartz mentioned, gone is the day when we can purchase just a pair of jeans. Although I usually like having many choices, this day was different. I rushed to the mall because I was in dire need of new jeans. Well, maybe not dire need, but I wanted some. I was in a rush because I really did not want to end up in traffic, and I had things that I needed to get done. I went into the store hoping to get my size and go, but this was not the case. I had to decide on wash, rise, straight leg, flare leg, long, short, regular, etc. It took up all my time, and I ended up in traffic on the way back. To this day, I have only worn that pair of jeans a couple of times. Why? Because I left being not totally satisfied. If I would have ran in, bought a pair in my size in five minutes, and then been dissatisfied that would have been different. There is more margin for error when you do not have so many choices. But, I spent time and was still not totally happy, which makes it even more worse. Schwartz was right.

Overall, I would have to say that the paradox of choice is rampant in today’s society and becoming all the more prevalent in any product from detergent to computers. Some people enjoy these choices, others dislike them, and still others change from day to day depending on the circumstance. I am one of those—a floater.