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DVDs, and the paradox of choice

January 8, 2008 General

So it’s not just me. This [Fortune blog article](http://bigtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/01/07/warner-dvd-format-war-was-hurting-movie-sales/?source=yahoo_quote) attributes this year’s 2% drop in DVD sales to consumer paralysis over which of the new formats to buy:

Market research showed it wasn’t just NetFlix (NFLX) or Apple’s (AAPL) iTunes hurting traditional DVD sales, either. Consumers who bought HDTVs were so afraid of backing the wrong high-definition movie format that they decided not to buy movies at all.

It’s a phenomenon that would be familiar to anyone who’s read Barry Schwartz’s Paradox of Choice: in our desire to not pick wrong, we often don’t pick at all.

Thanks to [Mike Curtis](http://hdforindies.com) for the link.

Related Posts

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