Giving a customer too many options can lead to procrastination and even paralysis in the booking process.
Airlines boast of new travel options: customer choice is at an unprecedented level! Airline passengers now have the choice of a variety of products including new ‘basic economy’ and relatively new ‘Premium Economy’. They have dozens of ancillary choices (carry-on bag, checked bag, travel insurance, lounge access, reserved seating, priority boarding, and so on). ‘Have it your way’ appears to be the new strategy, no longer ‘one size fits all’. Shouldn’t this new strategy drive greater customer satisfaction?
Instead of increased satisfaction, however, this dizzying menu of choices often results in increased anxiety. Such anxiety from too much choice often leads to increased procrastination in travel decision-making. Michael Kraabel of Bolin Marketing presented the following formula at a recent travel conference:
[Too many choices} + [Too little time] + [Uncertainty]
=> [Stress&Anxiety]
=> [Paralysis]!
Effectively, Kraabel argued that giving customers too much choice can be counterproductive; that it can lead to customers avoiding making any decision and not purchasing your product.
Making recommendations
The solution to potential paralysis, of course, is not to return to a ‘one size fits all’. Instead, e-merchandisers need to help customers by making choices for them. More personalised offerings can be built on understanding not just that people have different needs (which leads to product/choice proliferation) but what people have different needs (which product best meets this individual customer’s needs?).
A simple approach to this is recommendations: ‘People who bought X, also bought Y.’
Giving suggestions based on trip details or information you have about the customer and his habits can help a customer more easily navigate all of the choices. Some choices are, obviously, more compelling for certain travellers than others, so it helps to feature those alternatives prominently for the right customer group.
