Essay:'Shoppers have too much choice, from chocolate bars to jeans.' What, in your opinion, are the advantages and disadvantages of having many things to choose from?

Have you ever been to a supermarket to buy daily necessities, but wasted too much time on considering which product to choose from after scanning through the entire shelf of goods that tower way above you? I am sure that many of us have experienced this symptom at least once, as we shoppers have simply too much choice, from chocolate bars to jeans. Having a wide selection of goods to choose from is a double-edged sword for all consumers. Definitely, as consumers, we may think this benefits us, such as allowing us to purchase items according to our personal preferences and allowing us to obtain savings through buying cheaply-priced items. However, this is not entirely the case as some disadvantages include overspending and wasting time on contemplating what to choose.

One advantage of having many choices is that we can shop according to our personal preferences. Each of us has our different perception and perspective of the world around us, including places, objects and people. Naturally, we also possess a taste for things unique to ourselves. Therefore, we may not necessarily find a product that is our cup of tea if there are only a limited one or two products. One the contrary, if there is a wider selection of products offered, we are more likely to find something which adheres to our tastes. For example, NTUC Fairprice supermarket outlets display a generous array of coffee products on its shelves within a lane, ranging from Nescafe, Goldkili to Old Town White Coffee etc. Even within a specific brand such as Nescafe, there are plenty of types of coffee, such as the "Gold" selection, which uses Arabia coffee beans, and  the 3-in-1 white coffee series. Recently, they have released a new series of coffee products, which is called the Kopi Gao Siew Dai with less sugar, in order to pertain to the consumers' needs, such as people who prefer to have a lower sugar intake for their health's sake or people without a sweet tooth. Therefore, with a wide array of goods available in the market, companies would more often than not improve their products to better attract the consumers to whip their wallets out of their pockets to purchase their goods, enabling consumers to shop more easily according to their preferences.

 With so many products available in a shop, what is one way to certainly boost the sales of a product? As consumers ourselves, we are undoubtedly  seeking for the "treasures" during our shopping trips, which are the best buys for us. We are constantly on the lookout for discounted items, even if we only save up ten cents. We are using our sharp eyes to spot any offer that will benefit our wallets more when we compare various items. Hence, to stand out among the sea of things to choose from, brands have to cut down largely on their prices so as to remain competitive and relevant to the market, which makes prices more affordable, cheaper and wallet-friendly, thus passing down these savings to the consumers. [<-Good point] Let us take Uniqlo as an example. It is a large-chain shopping outlet, which has more than twenty clothing branches throughout Singapore. In order to compete against strong competitors such as H&M , Topshop and Cottonon and appeal to the public, it has reduced its prices for shorts, winter wear and other products significantly. Thus, its chain has since then expanded throughout Singapore at a rapid rate and is gaining recognition among shoppers for value-for-money goods. Hence, the shoppers will certainly benefit by saving up money through purchasing cheaper goods, especially in the long term.

  However, as having too many choices is a double-edged sword, there are disadvantages as well. One disadvantage is overspending. With higher purchasing power in developed countries such as Singapore, Australia and Japan, and the rise of the middle class in countries such as China, people may be more willing to fork out that bit of money to buy whatever appeals to them, especially since there is simply so much to choose. As the phrase goes " shop till you drop", quite a number of people often do not control their spending wisely and buy goods uncontrollably, even buying unnecessary items which they do not need. One swipe, two swipes and three swipes of the credit card... They unknowingly overspend, given that they have too many things to choose from. In a study conducted by a local bank, it is reported that up to thirty percent of Singaporeans cannot pay their bills on time and about ten percent also exceed their credit limit in a month. These statistics show that people may spend too much money when they cannot shop wisely given a large variety of goods. There are even cases of overspending that resulted in bankruptcy. For example, many women in China shop for luxury goods and there were quite a number of cases of women shopping for Louis Vuitton, Prada and Kate Spade bags excessively, till the extent of bankruptcy. Thus, we can tell that people may overspend when they are offered a wide variety of items, especially when they cannot resist the urge to shop.

  Lastly, having too much choices is detrimental, especially for indecisive individuals because we spend too much time on shopping. As there are too many choices for each kind of item, such as chocolates such as Cadbury Dairy Milk, Ferrero Rocher, Lindt and countless of other brands, we spend a lot of time hesitating or contemplating about this question whilst scratching our heads, "Should I get this or that? Which chocolate brand would my family like better?" As the time accumulates, we may spend close to thirty minutes of plain hesitation while shopping. Since time is finite and so valuable, shouldn't we conserve our precious resource of time on hesitating about what to buy instead?

 In conclusion, the advantages of having many things to choose from include purchasing items according to our own preferences and saving costs, while the disadvantages are overspending and wasting too much time on contemplating what should we pick. Hence upon being informed on these, we should be wiser consumers who take advantage of the man choices offered to us shoppers.

Comments:

Good: Excellent range of examples

Good: Clear & coherent

Not sure if you have time to complete this during an actual exam?

Score:25/30

Note: This is the other favourite essay of mine. I like it because I could apply what I learnt and done in real life here!(So, the tip is to equip yourself with general knowledge and be aware of your surroundings. You never know when you may apply this knowledge somewhere.)

Please also note that you should shorten your essay in examination settings, where there is a time restriction. The examiners will not expect you to write as much as this too!