Careful, now: New research posits that consumers may suffer paralysis by analysis if they aren't allowed to trust their guts when making buying decisions.

In a recent post at the Neuromarketing blog, Roger Dooley cites two experiments regarding consumer decision-making reported in Jonah Lehrer's How We Decide:

The Jam-Tasters. One group of shoppers was asked to rate a range of jams and choose those with the best flavor. This group "rated the jams in a very similar order to the professionals" by simply letting their taste buds decide, Dooley reports. A second group was asked to rate the jams, and to explain their ratings and analyze their first impressions. The results? A miserable mess. "This extra thought process … seemed to jumble their choices," Dooley says.

The Art-Lovers. Another group of consumers was invited to choose a free poster to take home. The posters included reproductions of Van Gogh and Monet paintings as well as cat pictures. "The first group simply picked," Dooley says, "and 90% chose one of the fine-art posters." The second group was asked to rate the posters and explain their choices. This group split about 50-50 between choosing the fine art and the cat pictures. But here's the kicker: "When the groups were [later] surveyed … 75% of those who took a cat poster regretted their choice," he notes.

"No, your 'gut' isn't always right," Dooley concludes. "But it may make better choices more often than we give it credit for."

→ end article preview
Read the Full Article