Why Too Many Choices Hurt Sales

Choice is great… until it stops people from buying.

It’s a common problem: A customer lands on a product page, excited to shop. But instead of a seamless experience, they’re faced with an overwhelming number of options and clunky filters that make it even harder to decide. Analysis paralysis sets in. They get frustrated. They leave.

This isn’t just a theory; it’s backed by data. A well-known study by psychologists Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper found that when shoppers were presented with 24 jam options, only 3% made a purchase. When offered just six options, 30% bought something.

The takeaway? Too many choices without the right guidance tank conversions.

The Real Problem: Bad Filters That Create More Confusion

Filters should solve this problem, but most of the time, they don’t. For the uninitiated, common mistakes include:

• Filters that don’t match how people actually shop. If someone is looking for a “warm winter jacket,” they shouldn’t have to dig through a dropdown of obscure material blends to find one. Patagonia does this well, offering intuitive filters like “warmth index” instead of technical jargon.

• Too many options that feel like work. A dropdown with 47 shades of “blue” (from “deep sea” to “stormy horizon”) doesn’t make decisions easier. Trying not to be biased (as this is literally being written on a Macbook), but Apple keeps it beautifully simple. They come in only two, count ’em TWO, well-defined colors, reducing decision fatigue for the person already stressed out about a big purchase.

• Filters that don’t work together. Ever select three filters only to get “0 results”? That’s a fast track to abandonment. Nordstrom gets it right by ensuring filters dynamically update to avoid dead ends, always leaving shoppers with real choices.

The Fix: Strategic Filtering That Guides Buyers

Effective filter strategy isn’t just about adding more, it’s about adding the right ones. A well-structured filtering system should:

• Use shopper-friendly language (no one is filtering by SKU)
• Reduce decision overwhelm, not increase it
• Work dynamically to prevent frustrating dead ends

While we wish we could say there is a one-size-fits-all solution, getting this right will likely take more than just tweaking a few settings in Shopify. But, solving problems like this is what we do for a living.

If you’re looking for industry-informed insights on how to fix your filtering strategy (without adding unnecessary complexity), and so boost conversions through other fixes as well, sign up for our newsletter. Because losing sales over something preventable? Not ideal.