Freedom of or from choice?

As I mentioned in my post about common complaints about Costco (Countering anti-Costco sentiments: Part 1), some people do not want to be limited to the one or two varieties of a given product that Costco carries rather than the seemingly endless supply carried by large supermarkets. While I can certainly understand this and admit to having driven to multiple stores on a few occasions to get a specific brand of a specific product (although this was also a good way to avoid working on my dissertation…), I think there are also benefits to not being bombarded with such a vast array of choices.

Years ago I remember reading about the research of a psychologist. Dr. Barry Schwartz studies behavioral economics. One of the things he studies is the relationship between satisfaction and choice. He has shown that, although we tend to think that having more choices (and therefore being able to get exactly what we want) would benefit our satisfaction, the opposite is true…the more choices we have, the less satisfied we tend to be. Although he refers to this phenomenon as the “paradox of choice” (also the title of one of his books), the finding makes sense to me…with more choices, there is the potentially never-ending series of “what ifs” (what if I chose the wrong xxxx? What if I regret choosing xxxx? What if I didn’t look into xxxx enough? What if choosing xxxx was a huge mistake?) Now, choices certainly vary in the degree to which they have serious consequences. For example, choosing the “wrong” career certainly has larger implications than choosing the “wrong” brand of apple juice. However, it is easy to understand how, when there are more options to consider, it can become overwhelming to make decisions and there is more possibility for regret.

Costco apparently buys into this idea of greater satisfaction from having fewer choices. In a conversation with a store manager, the manager put a positive spin on the limited variety of any given product by saying that the store helps customers by giving them “freedom from choice.” In other words, customers don’t have to fret about specific product decisions because the store did it for them—if they are going to buy a certain product at Costco, they will have to be satisfied with the select variety.

There have certainly been times that I wished Costco carried certain products (Costco Wish-Lists) because then I know that they would be in large quantities and at a good price. In addition, if Costco carried them, it would save the trip of buying them at the supermarket. However, I also appreciate knowing that for any given type of product at Costco, I am limited to one or two options. Costco can take long enough due to browsing new products, searching for those lovely “97s” (Price endings are not random), etc. that I don’t need to get hung up by the bread…”Hmmm…Friehoffer’s? Wonder? Sara Lee? Store brand?…” Also, because it is Costco and I have such a high regard for their product decisions (although, I do admit that so many products I have liked have been discontinued (It’s Gone? Discontinued Products) so perhaps I am not the best judge…), I feel confident that the variety of the item that they carry must be high quality.

The only items that I wish they carried more variety of because I use so much of it that it would be nice to buy in bulk at low prices are: more cereal varieties, ice cream, and yogurt options.

What do you think? Do you prefer freedom of choice or freedom from choice?

How do you view Costco’s lack of choices? Does it frustrate you? Or does it make for easier shopping?