Give me fewer choices, dammit

How many different varities of Tums do you see? (Photo: Flickr/The Campbells)

I love this article from the WSJ today about how product proliferation is hurting companies. The general gist is companies are offering more and more varieties of generally the same product to discourage entry to the market place, prevent comparison shopping in stores and holding on to longstanding customers

I’ll get it out of the way so you don’t have to wait for the payoff. Yes, I’m going to use Apple as my example.

Apple does the complete opposite and as a result has gobs and gobs of cash. Want to buy a computer from Apple? First you make a decision between laptop or desktop. Once that decision is made you decide how big you want your screen to be, what processor/graphics card and how big the hard drive is on the machine. For laptops you have roughly seven choices, desktops lets you pick from four. (Mac Pro not included, you are not a filmmaker)

So that’s 11-ish computers total that Apple offers.

A quick perusal of the HP web site shows (I think) that I can choose from up to 23 base models of laptops. I don’t care to check out customization, but even for base models there are more than three times the amount Apple offers. And HP printers? Take your pick of 85. How can I make an informed decision that I know I’ll be happy with if I have 85 options of something that generally does the same thing!

I’m more inclined to not spend money on something than potentially shell out hundreds of dollars for something I can’t find definitive reviews for because it’s one of hundreds of products in the same space. No one can possibly review every printer on the market, but it’s dead simple for a tech blog to look at Apple’s products, because they’re basically the same thing with variety coming from the core components that separate them into price layers.
Which is why people are willing to pay a premium. There is no guess work for the customer, they know they’re getting a superior product at a price that provides them value. They won’t be left wondering if maybe that different model with the same screen size, slower processor, more RAM, different DVD-ROM, red skin wrap, upgraded audio card, enhanced display, cheaper video card was a better deal.

This isn’t just an Apple vs. Everyone argument either. I have an HP laptop that I love, but recently when I had to replace an audio driver on it I found that there are AT LEAST 100 different HP Pavillion dv6000 models. (Mine is a DV6985SE to be exact).

Brands are making it impossible for people to recommend their favorite products to their friends. What’s available that store may not be available at this store because of limited shelf space,  exclusivity deals, demographics etc. People call me and ask my opinion on this desktop or that monitor and the only thing I can say is “Hold on, let me check the Amazon reviews.”

The WSJ article points out the benefits of focusing on producing/offering a handful products that are superior to a competitors offering. It even points to Trader Joe’s customers being okay with less selection in return for better prices. There are no loss leaders in Trader Joe’s says the WSJ:

“Trader Joe’s, a privately held specialty grocery chain, states on its Web site that if a product “doesn’t pull its weight” in stores, it is removed to make room for an item that will. The strategy results in more relevant merchandise for consumers and higher sales per square foot.”

Basically if your product sucks, they aren’t going to sell it. So the onus is on the manufacturer to make a good product, not the store to push it. That’s providing me the customer with that I want. A few options that are right for me, not a glut of products hoping to capture the long tail of sales.