{"id":46655,"date":"2019-10-03T18:23:53","date_gmt":"2019-10-03T12:53:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vwo.com\/blog\/?p=46655"},"modified":"2025-04-29T16:59:43","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T11:29:43","slug":"increase-ecommerce-sales-paradox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vwo.com\/blog\/increase-ecommerce-sales-paradox\/","title":{"rendered":"Less is More: Why Providing Your Customers with Fewer Options Will Increase Your eCommerce Sales"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You know the drill: You arrive home after a long workday, curl up onto the couch, and turn on Netflix to find a movie or show to lose yourself in. You end up spending what feels like hours browsing, but still can\u2019t decide what to watch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sound familiar? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If so, then you\u2019re not alone. The abundance of options that we\u2019re confronted with on a daily basis is known to paralyze us and cause us to put off making a decision, including in eCommerce<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Download Free: Improve Conversions In 60 Days Guide<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Further, having more options makes us less satisfied with our decisions because we keep thinking about everything we missed out on (the opportunity cost a.k.a. buyer\u2019s remorse). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The famous Jam Experiment proved this. Here\u2019s what happened: Psychologists, Iyengar, Jiang and Huberman, went to a grocery store and offered one group of customers 24 different types of jam. To another group of customers, they only offered six different types of jam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study<\/a> with 24 jams attracted more people but resulted in far fewer purchases. 30% of people bought jam when there were only six to choose from, while just 3% bought jam when there were 24 on display. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it doesn\u2019t stop there: Having fewer options<\/a> has also been shown to boost happiness, decrease buyer remorse, and increase the probability of repeat purchase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A study by Shah and Wolford<\/a> found that providing more choices helps to boost sales\u2026up to a certain point. After a certain number of options, you\u2019ll reach a point of diminishing returns. But where is that sweet spot for your business\u2014how many options are too few and how many are too many? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer depends on your products and customers, so the only way to find out is to test. That said, there are a number of key principles you can follow to reduce decision fatigue and maximize overall purchases.<\/p>\n\n\n

How to reduce decision fatigue and increase conversions\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n

Harvard defines \u201cdecision simplicity\u201d as is the ease with which consumers can gather trustworthy information about a product and confidently and efficiently weigh their purchase options. Decision simplicity is key to driving conversions and increasing customer retention<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One obvious way to increase decision simplicity is to offer your customers fewer options and reduce the number of products in your eCommerce store. But decision simplicity goes far beyond that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the top nine strategies to reduce customers\u2019 cognitive load, boost decision simplicity, and increase sales.<\/p>\n\n\n

1. Have Just One CTA<\/h3>\n\n\n

Emails and landing pages should have just one main call-to-action to guide the user towards the end goal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NameOn, a Scandinavian e-tailer, was losing over 30% of customers just before checkout. On reviewing the checkout process, they hypothesized that having nine calls to action on the cart page was confusing users. So they created another variation with just one CTA on the page, directing shoppers to check out. The page with just one CTA performed 11.40% better<\/a>, leading to $100,000 in additional yearly sales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whirlpool created an email campaign that had one primary CTA directing their customers to their rebate page, along with three other secondary \u201cLearn More\u201d CTAs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Whirlpool wondered if the secondary CTAs<\/a> were distracting the recipients from the primary CTA. So they created another variation with one primary CTA and no secondary CTAs.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Whirlpool
Image source Marketing Sherpa<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The email with only one CTA had a 42% higher<\/a> click-through rate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With several CTAs on the page, it\u2019s easy for people to get distracted and confused, even if your primary CTA stands out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So consider eliminating anything that distracts from your main CTA, whether it\u2019s on your checkout pages, landing pages, product pages or in emails<\/a>. Think of the one action you want the user to take, and make that crystal clear. Plus, the more you can segment your audiences, the more personal you can get with what that CTA is. <\/p>\n\n\n

2. Bundle your products<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n

Product bundling is combining several complementary products in a package at a cheaper price than it cost each product individually. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It works not only by increasing value perception, but it also reduces cognitive load for the buyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dollar Shave Club is a brilliant example of an eCommerce brand that built a business on bundling. Amazon has also consistently used bundling to increase cart value while developing loyalty in customers. Use historical sales data to understand which products are commonly purchased together, then test the effectiveness of bundling with real users to understand how it can work best for you.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"bundled
Image source: Dollar Shave Club<\/a>
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3. Provide social proof<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n

Have you ever seen a line outside a restaurant and immediately felt an urge to eat there? This is the power of social proof in action. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social proof is an innate psychological phenomenon whereby one\u2019s decision is influenced by other peoples\u2019 opinions or behavior. It\u2019s as old as time, and the eCommerce industry is continually finding new ways to leverage it to drive revenue growth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are a few of the top performing tactics for harnessing social proof. Display product reviews. Add \u201cbest-seller\u201d tags to your top-selling items. Or show user-generated content<\/a> (photos taken by customers) in the photo gallery, as the mattress brand, Casper, does on their homepage. Quote sales or customer numbers for high-selling products. Add testimonials from happy customers. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"social
Image source: Casper<\/a>
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Knowing that other people have purchased and been happy with your product will encourage your shoppers to make a purchase as well and feel more confident in their decision.<\/p>\n\n\n

4. Provide personalized choices<\/h3>\n\n\n

Rather than presenting customers with a bunch of random options, use data to understand and present a smaller number of products which are most relevant to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a post-purchase email campaign, Indochino selected three different shirts that matched the suits customers had just bought and promoted them as a bundle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"post-purchase
Image source: marketingsherpa<\/a>
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This email strategy<\/a> increased the brand\u2019s revenue by 540% compared to their normal promotions. It worked because it presented each customer with just one highly personalized and simple offer. It didn\u2019t make them have to think. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personalization can work even if you don\u2019t yet have data about the customer. Warby Parker encourages website visitors to take an eight-question quiz to find out what type of glasses are best for them. Once the quiz is complete, they see a curated selection of glasses that are relevant to their needs. Users will often be happy to give information if they trust it will be used to make their experience better.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"online<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Once the quiz is complete, they then provide them with a curated selection of glasses based on their answers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"a
Image source: Warby Parker<\/a> 
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\"Banner<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Download Free: Improve Conversions In 60 Days Guide<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n

5. Simplify your website<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n

It\u2019s not only about how many <\/em>options you provide your customers; it\u2019s also about how you present<\/em> them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a look at Bellroy\u2019s homepage, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Bellroy\"
Image source: Bellroy<\/a>
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Notice how they don\u2019t overload their website visitors with information and products right off the bat. Rather, just below the fold<\/a>, they display their best-selling items, and below that, they show the different product categories, making it easy for their shoppers to find what they need. They offer a variety of choices presented in a way that makes the shopping experience enjoyable and effortless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to a beautiful design, make sure your website is easy to navigate and explore. Make it easy to search and find a product if the customer already knows what they want. As Bellroy does, categorize your products in a way that makes it easy for your shoppers to find what they\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, listen to this insightful episode from the VWO Podcast to understand how you can simplify choices with Hick’s Law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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