Let’s dive deeper into the above example.
In the left one, your users have a simple choice they either:
- sign up
- or don’t.
Like Yoda said, there is no try. 👽
Unfortunately, most people will choose not to sign up because that’s just the easier choice.
But when we add the other checkbox.
Now it’s a choice between two options:
- sign up for the newsletter
- or targeted ads…
well, which one would you choose if you had to?
Obviously the email signup.
So, we went from a take-it-or-leave-it scenario to a decision between two options.
(Actually, there are three options since you can just do nothing. But we will ignore them for simplicity.)
This is called the Hobson +1 effect, which is one of many cognitive biases we humans have.
Think of cognitive biases as these shortcuts our brains take to make decisions quickly, but sometimes, they lead us to the wrong conclusions.
What is the Hobson +1 effect?
Let’s first break down three psychology principles that sound similar but work slightly differently:
- The Paradox of Choice
- Hobson’s Choice
- the Hobson +1 Effect
Understanding these can help you improve your shops conversion rate.
Paradox of Choice. Imagine you walk into a candy store with a hundred different candies. Sounds great, right? But suddenly, choosing just one feels overwhelming.
The Paradox of Choice is the idea that having too many options can lead to decision paralysis, anxiety, and dissatisfaction.
Hobson’s Choice. This is when you’re given only one real option—it’s either take it or leave it.
Think of those “Agree to Terms and Conditions” checkboxes online. In most cases, if you don’t agree, you can’t use the service. You don’t really have a choice.
Hobson +1 Effect. This is like the cure for Hobson’s Choice. Instead of just one option, you’re given two. Now, your brain is more engaged because you’re comparing and making an actual choice.
How to Apply in E-commerce
So how can you apply this in ecommerce?
The Hobson’s +1 Effect gently nudges customers toward the option you prefer (like singing up to the newsletter instead of personalized ads).
By presenting one real choice alongside a less attractive choice.
(And that’s the secret, it needs to be less attractive.)
This way, you can guide the customer’s decision-making without taking away their sense of control.
Examples in E-commerce:
Let’s take a look at a real example from Amazon’s website.
Notice how they have two CTAs on product pages that seemingly do the same thing…
- Add to Basket
- Buy Now
Which one would you click?
When I shop at Amazon, I never click on buy now… just because I’m not sure what will happen.
- Will it just buy this product?
- Will it buy all the products in my cart?
- What if the product is less than the threshold for free shipping?
There are just too many questions at this stage. So I added it to the cart because it’s more attractive.
Example 2:
Okay, let’s look at a more obvious example on this product page.
In this case, you can see that your CTAs are:
- Add the product in shopping cart
- Pick up in-store
- Add to wish list ❤️
-
This is probably the most common way to use Hobson+1.
Use it together with the add-to-cart button. You just add something less attractive next to it.
For example:
- Wishlist / Save for later
- Become a client / Create account
- Social sharing
Anything that is remotely related, but less attractive.
Example 3:
Here is another example on Zalando’s product page. On the right, there is this delivery information section (it is just below the price and add to cart).
You see how you can have two options for delivery:
- Premium (1-2 days) - €4,95
- Standard (2-3 days) - Free
Now, 2-3 days for delivery is a long time. So many people will consider the premium delivery, but here’s the catch…
- Premium delivery is FREE with Zalando Plus (similar to Amazon Prime).
- Zalando Plus costs $10 a year.
- That means if you use premium delivery, you already “saved” the PLUS subscription amount.
- Zalando probably has data showing if customers sign up to PLUS, they order more in the future
Let’s be honest, who wants to wait for 3 days for new clothes? We want the stuff today, and if not today, then tomorrow the latest.
Now I’m not sure this is a “pure” Hobson +1 effect situation, there are probably some other biases at play. But I thought it’s really interesting example of online psychology.
Is this for everybody?
I know the Hobson+1 effect seems trivial, and you can't expect your add-to-cart rate to jump by +50%.
You need to experiment with it and ideally run an AB test to find out if it actually works in your shop and in your use case.
I’ve tested this, and it works in some cases, and it doesn’t in others.
But I find the psychological theory behind it fascinating. This is a very subtle change and may affect only a tiny percentage of people.
But many shops have used this successfully and increased conversion rates by 2-5%, which I would take any day!
Happy analyzing,
Robert