Test before you remove options, because more choice often does no harm
Updated: 17 hours ago
The famous jam study found that more choice decreased sales. This result is not a general rule.
The study. Researchers from Germany and Switzerland combined the results of 50 experiments on choice overload. Choice overload is the idea that too many options stop people from a choice. The experiments had 5,036 participants in total.
The finding. On average, the number of options had almost no effect on purchases or satisfaction. Some studies found a strong choice overload effect. Other studies found that more choice helped.
Why it matters. Many product teams remove options because of the jam study. This review shows that the effect depends on the situation. If you remove options without a test, you can remove choices that users want.
The takeaway. Test the number of options in your own product. Help users choose with filters and defaults. Do not remove options without data.
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