Too much choice?

Sinningias -- Infinite variety

 

Too much choice.

 

            How can you possibly have too much choice?

 

            I’m convinced that if you have more variety of plants that you will sell more.

 

            There is a theory that humans, when confronted with too many variations of an item, will ultimately get confused and buy none of them.

 

            Maybe.

 

            I tried to buy a toaster once and could not decide how its features were different or better.  I bought the $20 one.

 

            Too much choice conflicts with the long tail theory.  In music, all the money goes to the top 10 songs. But the least popular still may sell one or two.  Digital products allow this because there is no cost to stocking every song ever made.

 

            Physical products are more limited because they take up space in the store and may never be sold.

 

            Are plants like this?  Do plants follow the 80-20 rule, which says that 80% of the sales come from 20% of the plants shown.

 

            A Mum in the Fall, a Geranium in the Spring, a Poinsettia at Christmas.  You would be foolish to go against this 80-20 rule. But if you grow commodity plants, don’t expect to sell at higher than normal prices.

 

            However, if you grow a choice of unusual plants, price is irrelevant, and the long tail of variety works.

 

            More choice is what you want.