Is too much choice an issue and how do you decide what to buy?

***Pottsy***

How do you feel about having less choice in the supermarket?
- Frustrated, annoyed, disappointed, manipulated, angry, belittled....I can go on! Why should a supermarket get to make our choices for us? Let the consumer decide what they want to buy and what they don't.

What would you do if your usual brand was no longer available?
What can most people do? What do we as consumers have TIME to do? It varies for all of us. The choices come down to shop somewhere that does sell the brand you want or buy a 'fill-in' product until you have time to go elsewhere or choose a new brand and hope it fulfills your needs as much as your favourite brand did. You can always contact the manufacturer and find out the best place to buy their goods. If you are super keen on supporting your brand I guess you could go the media and make a fuss

Would you prefer more or fewer brands to choose from?
This totally depends on what the product is. I don't believe you can lump all products into this question and come out with the same answer
Sometimes more choice is better, sometimes it just isn't necessary, sometimes more brands means more competition thus better prices. Sometimes less brands means prices can be increased. In teh end it comes downm to what type of product you are looking at and also why you are buying that product in the first place. There are many variables.

Does having too many brands to choose from make it harder to decide? When you are faced with a wide range of products to choose from, how you make your decision?
No, but it does slightly depend on the type of product. e.g are you buying a tin of tomatoes or a pasta sauce that has many ingredients? A tin of tomatoes may vary slightly between brands but basically you are getting tomatoes! However a pasta sauce with many ingredients can vary greatly between brands! It depends what you are looking for in the product you buy. Are you fussy about value? Are you fussy about taste? Are you fussy about where it was made? Are you fussy about where it was grown? Does one brand have more environmentally friendly packaging? Are you looking for the cheapest price for the best value? Most 'seasoned' shoppers know exactly what they want from a product and for them the more brands the better. They love using their past experience and knowledge to make good choices. However, for a novice shopper being faced with a wall of different brands can indeed be confusing.
It comes down to individual needs and wants in the and we all have different needs and wants