Rewind to 1950. A typical grocery store carried 5,000 different items. In 1990, this number grew to 30,000. Today, the number of products in a grocery store tops 100,000. It’s no wonder consumers are overwhelmed these days with the number of choices they have for almost any given retail item.
In fact, in a study done in 2005 by Dr. Raymond R. Burke, professor at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, 75% of consumers claimed it was difficult to choose between so many products offered, and 95% of department store shoppers said they often left empty-handed.