The Tyranny of Choice: How "Hick’s Law" is Killing Your Conversions

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Cognitive Load Problem

Imagine walking into a restaurant, starving. They hand you a 50-page menu with no pictures. Do you feel liberated? No. You feel stressed. You scan it anxiously, terrified of picking the wrong thing, and eventually just order a burger because it’s safe.

Now imagine a restaurant with a menu that has just three items: Steak, Fish, or Vegetarian. You decide in 10 seconds and feel confident.

The Jam Experiment: Why Offering Less Options Drives More Revenue

Sun, 04 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Paralysis of Abundance

We live in a world of abundance. Walk down the cereal aisle, and you face 50 options. Open Netflix, and you have 5,000 movies. Logic suggests that more options increase the likelihood of finding the “perfect fit.” Psychology proves the opposite: More options increase anxiety.

Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice, argues that as options increase, two things happen:

Analysis Paralysis: It becomes harder to choose.

Simplicity on My New Hugo Project

The Tyranny of Choice: How "Hick’s Law" is Killing Your Conversions

The Cognitive Load Problem

The Jam Experiment: Why Offering Less Options Drives More Revenue

The Paralysis of Abundance