Why "more options" is killing your conversion rate

I watched a user spend 47 seconds on a product page last week.

Not reading. Not scrolling. Just... staring at a dropdown menu with 18 size options.

Then they left.

No add to cart. No purchase. Gone.

Here's the thing: that brand added those options because customers asked for them. More colors. More sizes. More flexibility.

They were trying to be helpful.

Instead, they built a wall.

The Jam Problem (And Why It Matters for Your Site)

You might know the famous jam study.

Researchers set up a tasting booth at a grocery store. One day they displayed 24 jams. Another day, just 6.

The table with 24 jams attracted more people. Made sense, more variety, more interest.

But here's the twist: the table with 6 jams sold ten times more.

More options created more interest but less action.

That's the paradox of choice in action.

And it's happening on your product pages right now.

Where Too Much Choice Shows Up

The problem isn't always obvious. It hides in places that look customer-friendly:

Product variants without structure. Showing 18 sizes in a dropdown feels helpful until the shopper freezes trying to compare them all. Same with color swatches presented as tiny squares that all look the same on mobile.

Filters that overwhelm. A navigation system with 40 filter options sounds comprehensive. In practice? Decision paralysis before they even see a product.

Bundles without defaults. "Build your own" is great for engagement. But if every component requires a choice with no recommended starting point, most people will build nothing.

Collections that never end. Infinite scroll sounds user-friendly until someone has scrolled past 200 products without making a decision. Or worse, without gaining any clarity on what to decide.

The Brain Under Load

Here's what's happening cognitively.

Every choice requires mental effort. Not much on its own. But stack up 6, 10, 15 decisions before someone can click "add to cart"?

That effort compounds.

And when effort outweighs motivation, the brain takes the path of least resistance.

It leaves.

This isn't weakness. It's efficiency. Your shopper's brain is designed to conserve energy.

Your job is to stop making it work so hard.

The Nudge Solution

Richard Thaler (a Nobel Prize-winning economist, in case you need to drop his name in a meeting) coined the idea of choice architecture.

The insight is deceptively simple: how you present choices matters as much as what choices you offer.

You don't have to remove options. You just have to make the right option easier to pick.

Here's what that looks like in practice:

Smart defaults. Pre-select the most popular size. Pre-check the most common shipping option. Give them a starting point instead of a blank slate. When users have to opt out of a good choice instead of opting in, conversion goes up.

Progressive disclosure. Don't show everything at once. Start with the most important options. Reveal secondary choices only when they matter, after a primary decision is made. e.g., after a category is selected.

Visual chunking. Group related options together. Create clear sections. When the eye can scan organized groups instead of a wall of choices, processing becomes faster and less exhausting.

Anchoring with recommendations. "Most popular" badges aren't just social proof. They're cognitive shortcuts that reduce the burden of comparison. Same with "Best for beginners" or "Staff pick" callouts.

Limit visible options. If you have 30 colors, show the top 6 with a "see more" link. Most people don't need to see everything. They need to see enough to feel confident.

The Real Win: Making "Easy" Feel Personal

Here's what separates good choice architecture from manipulation:

Good choice architecture helps people get what they actually want, faster.

Bad choice architecture tricks people into choices they'll regret.

The test is simple: Would your customer thank you for making this easier?

If the answer is yes, you're on the right track.

The Sequence Test

Last week I walked you through auditing your pages for decision overload. (If you missed it, that's still a good place to start.)

But here's the next layer: it's not just how many choices you present. It's when you present them.

Try this: map out your product page as a timeline.

What does the shopper see first? Second? Third?

Now ask: is that sequence aligned with how they actually make the decision?

Most brands front-load the wrong information. They show certification badges before the product. Shipping details before the value prop. Variant selectors before the customer even knows if they want the thing.

The fix isn't removal. It's reordering.

Lead with what creates desire. Follow with what builds confidence. End with what closes the sale.

When you sequence information to match the buyer's mental process, you're not reducing choices, you're making each choice feel like the obvious next step.

That's the difference between a page that converts and one that overwhelms.

Looking forward,

Brian

P.S. Ready to grow revenue without having to grow traffic? Let’s talk.