Uncomplicate Your Marketing: The Science of De-Selection

Remember the jam experiment? 

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Well, here is a refresher.

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 In 2000, Prof. Sheena Iyengar (Columbia University) and Prof. Mark Lepper (Stanford University) published a paper “When Choice is Demotivating: Can One Desire Too Much of a Good Thing?” (You can find it HERE) 

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Their paper was based on a jam experiment. 

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On one day, at a supermarket, they offered consumers the chance to sample from 24 varieties of jam. On another day, at the very same supermarket, they were sampling 6 varieties of jams. The study showed that the table with less choice (6 varieties) was 10x more likely to drive sales than the larger display (24 varieties). 

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The key take-away: Choice might generate more interest and appeal but it can overload consumers and result in lower purchase volume. And it also leads to lower levels of satisfaction.

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The Paradox of Choice. 

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Hang on a second. 

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So if this principle works in the real world, why do most web-sites and digital properties ignore this proven principle? 

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(Let’s not name names here - our lawyers have not reviewed this article).

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It’s possible that many marketers have not read this paper (I confess - I only skimmed it!) but now that you know the results, what is a marketer to do? 

The answer: The principle of de-selection. 

Your job - specifically in a digital context - is to help consumers make quicker and easier choices by making it easier for them to compare alternatives. Or when they don’t have a preference, make it easy for them to shop. 

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Let’s take a real example: MARMOT

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Marmot created a jacket finder on their web-site. The first choice is shopping for a jacket for MEN or WOMEN. If you select WOMEN, you de-select all options for MEN. It seems obvious when it is written out - but think about it: approximately 50% of the choices are taken off the table. By then choosing preferred features, type of activity, and weather, the shopper is taken to a select few product recommendations. 

Sound familiar? 

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It is what happens when you walk into a store and a good salesperson helps you. Some call it “Guided Selling” while others call it “Decision Support” -  baked into the process is the art of “De-Selection”.

If you don’t like RED jackets, a good sales associate won’t show you RED jackets. 

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In the case of Marmot, it worked!  

*They saw a +47% lift in conversions

*They saw +34% lift in average order value 

*They saw a +18% lift in time spent on-site

*With an 89% quiz completion rate, they saw a 8.5x ROI 

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The lesson for marketers: Less is more. Guide your site visitors; don’t make them do all the work. 

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Leverage “De-Selection” to get more out of your site and drive better results.