Apple

Apple has figured out that if you offer a small selection of iPods in just a few colours it boosts the feel-good factor and people buy. Their flagship stores have a minimal amount of products on display and lots of clear space. Other MP3 players may have more functions, but we still keep buying iPods in their millions.

Ladress.com

This website sells just one dress. Customers can vary the fabric, colour, skirt and sleeve lengths, but the essential article stays the same.

Amazon

Millions of titles to choose from but you don’t have to wade through them. Amazon helps you choose with precision targeting and recommends similar titles to those you bought already. Choice is controlled rather than overwhelming.

Google

A massive advertising portal offering millions of buying suggestions but also one of the simplest. Its front page is clean with manageable options. Compare the front page of Yahoo! or MSN.

Where more is too much

Whole Foods

This giant new organic grocery store in Kensington High Street, West London, is the ultimate temple to the tyranny of choice.

There’s so much to choose from in this upmarket, bulging store that you can even grind your own nut butter or make your own muesli – as if you didn’t have enough to do already.

Primark

So much choice that it could send you crazy. This discount clothing store is bursting at the seams with stock, so if you like the simple life it is best avoided.

B&Q

Such a bewildering array of products to choose from that you can easily feel overwhelmed and buy a set of garden chairs when you went in only for a packet of nails.

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