Making a decision about an activity for a group of friends can be stressful.

Sharaya Jones, Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Costello College of Business at George Mason University, examines why emotions play a huge part in the process.

Faculty Bio:

Sharaya M. Jones is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Costello College of Business. Sharaya received her PhD in Marketing from the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder, and her bachelor's degree from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on questions about how consumer perceptions shape consumer responses. In one stream of research, she examines how perceptions of congruity influence consumer responses such as donation behavior and new product appeal. In a second stream of research, she uncovers how consumers experience and make decisions for shared consumption, which are both heavily influenced by perceptions of group members’ preferences.

Transcript:

Picture this: you’re picking a restaurant for date night, snacks for a movie night with friends, or a group activity for a trip. Why does it feel like a struggle to choose something that will work for everyone?

Seven experiments with over 2000 people revealed something surprising: these decisions aren’t actually harder than choosing for yourself – they’re more emotional. You feel a heightened sense of responsibility to avoid getting it wrong, and the less you know about others’ preferences, the less confident you feel that you’ll be able to make everyone, including yourself, happy. The anxiety is real and it shapes your choices.

It’s why people gravitate toward “most popular” labels and choose variety packs: those options are a safer bet when satisfying everyone – including yourself.

Here’s what’s exciting for brands right now: With AI and social media, we now have real-time signals about who a decision is for. Someone asking an AI “what book should I choose for my book club?” or commenting on a TikTok, asking their tagged friend “should we go to this?” are signals that smart brands can act on. Brands can create bundles or promote “crowd pleasers” for group decisions, as opposed to personalized picks for solo shoppers. These strategies not only help consumers but may also lead to higher conversion.

For consumers: ask people what they want and if that fails, give them some options to help them reveal their preferences. And if someone else is choosing for a shared experience, don’t shy away from stating your preferences. It will reduce their anxiety and make the whole experience better for everyone.

Read More:

[George Mason] - Why choosing stuff to share is an ordeal

[Sage Journals] - The Decision-Making Process and Impact of Individual Decisions for Joint Consumption

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Sharaya Jones, George Mason University - Why Choosing Stuff to Share is an Ordeal

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Sharaya Jones, George Mason University - Why Choosing Stuff to Share is an Ordeal