Supermarket options 'paralyse shoppers'

London: Supermarkets have been criticised for offering consumers too much choice after it was revealed that Tesco now stocks 38 different varieties of milk.

Britain's largest food retailer typically sells specialties such as low cholesterol, lactose-free, omega 3 enriched, locally sourced, soya, flavoured and goats' milk alongside standard cows' milk.

Tesco also stocks 154 different jams, 107 varieties of pasta and 98 types of fruit cordial. The recently opened American Whole Foods Market in Kensington sells 100 types of nuts and 40 different sausages.

Psychologists believe the over-abundance of choice is making customers unhappy because they are faced with too many decisions and end up feeling they have chosen badly.

Professor Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox Of Choice, said: "There is vastly too much choice in the modern world and we are paying an enormous price for it. It makes us feel helpless, mentally paralysed and profoundly dissatisfied. We feel bad that every time we do make a choice, it seems we are missing out on other opportunities. This makes us feel inadequate and dissatisfied with what we have chosen."

Research in America suggests that less consumer choice may be better for mental wellbeing. Professor Mark Lepper of Stanford University found that consumers who tested six jams went on to buy more and feel happier than those offered 24 jams to taste.