Simplicity can be thought of in terms of content, experiences, and thought. Research shows that simplifying content by using easy-to-pronounce ingredients and readable fonts leads consumers to make more positive judgments. Experiences should also be simplified as people have less patience due to technology dependence. Providing many choices overloads people and negatively impacts purchasing. Companies like Amazon, Aldi, and Brandless have found success by simplifying content, experiences, and decisions to reduce customers' mental effort. The overall implication is that retailers should strive to simplify the customer experience through all aspects of their business.

1. Simplicity
in Retail

2. What is simplicity, and
how does it affect
consumer behavior?

3. Simplicity can be thought of in a variety of ways. At Needle, we break simplicity down into its behavioral
elements. In particular, we focus upon the appearance of simplicity (content), the feeling of simplicity
(experiences), and the mental effort achieved with simplicity (thought).
Content Experiences Thought

4. Implications
For each topic, we’ll discuss the
relevant research and findings,
concluding with an implication.
The implication provides a general
principle suggested by the
preceding research.
Takeaways
After each implication, we’ll also
provide examples of companies
already reacting to these
implications. In doing so, we hope
to provide concrete examples of
these principles in action. Thus,
every section will end with a
concrete takeaway.

5. Simplify Content

6. Magnalroxate Hnegriptrom
Which of the following ingredients
would you prefer to see in your food?
or

7. 3
3,2
3,4
3,6
3,8
4
4,2
4,4
4,6
4,8
5
Hard-to-pronounce Easy-to-pronounce
How harmful is this ingredient?
Song & Schwarz, 2009
Researchers asked people to
rate how harmful they
thought ingredients were.
Unbeknownst to them, the
ingredients were all fictional,
and differed only in how easy
they were to pronounce.
On average, people rated
fictional ingredients with
difficult to pronounce names
as more harmful.

8. When things are hard to read
and pronounce, they are
seen also seen as…

9. Less trustworthy
Reber & Schwarz, 1999

10. In one study, participants were asked to rate statements as true or false (i.e.,
“Osorno is in Chile’). Half of the statements were true, and half were false.
Critically, the researchers manipulated the visibility of the text, using color
contrast to make half of the statements easy to read, and half of the
statements difficult to read.
Difficult to read:
Green, Yellow, Light Blue
Easy to read:
Dark Blue, Red
Reber & Schwarz, 1999

11. As predicted, statements that were
highly visible were significantly more
likely to be rated as true.
This indicates that ‘perceptual
fluency’, or how easy it is to process
something, can have important
outcomes for judgements of truth.
7,5
7,6
7,7
7,8
7,9
8
8,1
8,2
8,3
8,4
8,5
Easy to read Difficult to read
Number of Statements Judged to be
True
Reber & Schwarz, 1999

12. And even more
effortful
Song & Schwarz, 2008

13. Easy to read font:
8.23
minutes
Hard to read font:
9.28
minutes
Song & Schwarz, 2008
On average, participants estimated that an exercise would
take less time to complete when written in an easy to read
font (Arial), compared to a hard to read font (Brush).
vs.

14. 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Easy to read Hard to read
Willingness to participate
Song & Schwarz, 2008
Song & Schwarz, 2008
And they were also
less willing to commit
to the exercise when
the font was difficult
to read.

15. Even the appearance of simplicity
can shape attitudes behavior.
Implication

16. Research at the Bank of England in
2016 revealed that typical
publications were accessible to only
1/5
of the general UK population.
The Times, May 2017.

17. So they looked to a
unique source of
inspiration.

18. The Times, May 2017.
The bank used the works of famed children’s author Dr. Seuss as inspiration
for future communications. Dr. Seuss was notorious for his ability use a
limited vocabulary (his 65 page book The Cat in the Hat was limited to 225
unique words, and Green Eggs and Ham used only 50).

19. Apple is a company
built on simplicity. This
is particularly evident
in their marketing,
beginning with early
print ads.

20. And even extends
to their product
packaging.

21. Strong brands simplify language,
imagery, and terminology.
Takeaway

22. Simplify
Experiences

23. People are becoming
less patient.

24. 42%
UK respondents admit to
being more impatient than
they were five years ago
Fetch, 2017

25. 47%
Of people expect a webpage to load
in
2 seconds or less
And 40% abandon the page if it takes
longer than 3 seconds to load.
Kissmetrics research

26. 96%
of Americans will knowingly burn
their mouth with
hot food or drink
(63% do so regularly)
Fifth Third, 2015

27. When consumers
experience long
waits on their
mobile…
Radware, 2014 State of the Union.
Behave
more or less
normally
62%
Curse at
their phone
Scream at
their phone
Throw their
phone
23%
11%
4%

28. What explains this
level of impatience?

29. Wilmer & Chein, 2016.
Heavy mobile phone use
has been linked to
weaker impulse control
and a weaker ability to
delay gratification.

30. People are less patient, and this is
largely attributable to our reliance
upon technology.
Implication

31. Amazon has always
recognized this, and has
a history of simplifying
experiences. A key
example of this is their
revolutionary one-click
ordering…

32. And extends to such
innovations as the
Amazon Dash button,
which further caters to
impatience.

33. And now, they are
beginning to simplify
experiences in brick and
mortar with their
checkout-free Amazon
Go.

34. Simplifying the level of effort and
time should be a primary goal for
all retailers.
Takeaway

35. Simplify
Thought

36. Spenner & Freeman, 2012
A massive study of over 7000
consumers revealed that one of the
best ways to measure consumer
engagement is the ‘decision
simplicity index’.
More specifically, how easy it is to
understand/research a brand, how
much they can trust it, and how
easily they can weigh the various
options.

37. Spenner & Freeman, 2012
Brands in the top quarter for decision-simplicity were:
86%
more likely to be
purchased by those
considering them
9%
more likely to be
repurchased
115%
more likely to be
recommended to others

38. Why is this?

39. Iyengar, S. S., & Lepper, M. R. (2000).
A classic study set up two tasting stalls in a grocery store.
One provided a tasting selection of 6 jams. The other
stand provided a selection of 24 jams.

40. 0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
6 jams 24 jams
Percentage of shoppers
who stopped
Iyengar, S. S., & Lepper, M. R. (2000).
Although people were
more likely to stop by the
stand offering a wider
variety of jams…

41. Iyengar, S. S., & Lepper, M. R. (2000).
People who sampled from the
smaller choice set were much
more likely to actually make a
purchase.
The explanation? Choice
overload. The unpleasant
experience of a difficult
choice can negatively affect
purchase intentions.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
6 jams 24 jams
Percentage of shoppers
who made a purchase

42. Mental effort is a key predictor of
behavior, particularly when it
comes to choices and decisions.
Implication

43. Every year Siegel+Gale
ranks brands by their
simplicity, as rated by
consumers.
The winner for the past
four years?

45. “[We] don’t believe that customers
want to have to choose between
multiple varieties of olive oil”
Aldi marketing director Adam Zavalis

46. As an example of a company that has taken this to the extreme, Brandless offers a limited
range of approximately 300 fair trade, non-GMO, household products. However, Brandless is not
just notable for it’s limited range of products, but also for the fact that every product is priced
at three dollars. Weighing prices and comparing products is completely stripped away when
shopping at Brandless.

47. As an example of a company
that has taken this to the
extreme, Brandless offers a
limited range of
approximately 300 fair trade,
non-GMO, household
products. However, Brandless
is not just notable for it’s
limited range of products, but
also for the fact that every
product is priced a three
dollars. Weighing prices and
comparing products is
completely stripped away
when shopping at Brandless.

48. Companies should strive to reduce
the complexity of decisions and
choices for their customers.
Takeaway

49. To conclude…

50. The aim for retailers should
not be to simply offer
customers the latest tools
and technologies.

51. But to harness these
technologies to simplify the
customer experience.

52. Thanks for reading!
needlestrategy.com
justin.saddlemyer@needlestrategy.com
0488/11-01-74