Too many options can stall a decision. When buyers face a long list of similar choices, many put off deciding or choose nothing at all. Also called the paradox of choice.
When designing product lineups, pricing tiers, menus, navigation and landing pages; whenever conversion drops as options grow.
The Iyengar and Lepper jam study (24 flavors drew a crowd, 6 flavors sold more); three pricing tiers instead of seven; a 'most popular' badge; guided quizzes that narrow the field.
A frequent hidden foul on ecommerce and SaaS pages. Note that later studies found the effect varies by context, so test before you cut.
