Effect of Color Variation on Consumer Satisfaction With Choice: The Case of Fashion- and Style-oriented Products

Iyengar and Lepper (2000) demonstrated that consumers are more likely to purchase gourmet jams or chocolates when offered a limited array of six choices, rather than a more extensive array of 24 or 30 choices; this finding appears, somewhat, to contradict the assumption that providing consumers with more choices is better. Moreover, those participants actually reported greater subsequent satisfaction with their selections when their original set of options had been limited. The present study analyzed the effect of color-variation offering in fashion- and style-oriented products (e.g., bags, sandals, and fountain pens) on consumer satisfaction. Our preliminary results showed that in terms of catering to participant preference, the optimal color-variation offering of a fashion- and style-oriented product was approximately 12–18 colors