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Too much choice paralyses – even when it comes to wine. Neuroscientific findings show why consumers prefer not to buy anything at all when faced with an overabundance of products. This phenomenon is familiar from everyday life, when too much choice leads us to leave the shop or wine market in frustration. This is about how clarity, emotional appeal and targeted reduction facilitate purchasing decisions and how a label should be designed.
February 2026
Original article on Linkedin: Fighting Choice Paralysis in Wine Retail: What Neuroscience Suggests
A wine rack, dozens of labels, indications of origin, grape varieties, vintages – now what? Instead of curiosity, uncertainty; instead of a desire to discover, overwhelm. What to choose? This is precisely where the phenomenon of “choice paralysis” comes in: too many options do not lead to better decisions, but often to no decisions at all. Or you do make a decision, and afterwards it doesn't feel right. The reason lies in the limited human attention span: if you lose track of things, your brain gets tired and shuts down. Clarity, on the other hand, activates it. Priscilla Hennekam (Rethinking The Wine Industry) recently addressed this phenomenon on LinkedIn.
Hennekam points to neuroscientific perspectives that explain why a large number of options does not necessarily lead to more purchasing decisions, but often to fewer. She refers to contributions by neuroscientist Marco Baldocchi, who combines science and practice in decision-making processes. His company, Neuralisys, is dedicated to applying findings from neuroscience and consumer research in a marketing context.
Neuroscience shows that when the brain is overwhelmed, it does not analyse, it shortcuts. These shortcuts are called cognitive heuristics (quick, unconscious rules of thumb that reduce complexity).
In the wine rack, for example, they might look like this:
1. Visual cues: gravitating toward a label with strong contrast or elegant typography.
2. Price anchors: assuming mid-priced bottles are “safe” choices.
3. Familiarity bias: choosing a region, grape, or brand name we’ve seen before.
4. Emotional salience: picking the wine that “feels right” because the design or story triggered positive affect.
These heuristics function like mental shortcuts: they reduce the amount of mental effort required when there are too many similar options to choose from. In other words, too much choice of wine weakens attention and overloads the brain with decision-making stress. Heuristics then take on the ‘survival task’ of quickly bringing about a decision, or indeed no decision at all.What does this mean for winegrowers? The consequences for the wine industry and trade are quite clear: oversupply does not automatically generate more sales; it often leads to decision-making paralysis. For a better shopping experience, it is therefore important to simplify decision-making processes rather than complicate them. Fewer and clearer signals help the brain to make more precise decisions with less stress.
→ This means structuring your product range in a targeted manner, using labels to create visual and emotional anchors, or highlighting curated selections. The less your brain has to ‘struggle’, the more likely it is that your hand will reach for a bottle of wine from your production.
→ And it also means clear POSITIONING. How and for what should I be perceived in the market? Add to this a streamlined product range and label design that clearly sets you apart from the competition. Make it easy for consumers!
