Why is it so Difficult to Buy Anything?
As discussed, in the earlier post, a prominent feature of modern life is the abundance of choice. We have more choices, right from buying a smartphone to selecting a health insurance plan, investing our savings, or purchasing a home, we have more options than anytime before. Choice is often presented as freedom. But there is another side to it that receives far less attention: complexity of buying.
Modern consumers are increasingly expected to make decisions that require specialized knowledge. For example, buying a phone is no longer about choosing a device that can make calls. Consumers are expected to compare processors, battery performance, camera specifications, software support, warranties, and privacy features. Similarly, buying a health insurance requires understanding exclusions, waiting periods, deductibles, and other complex policy conditions.
The assumption behind the modern economic design is that consumers can educate themselves and make informed choices. In theory, that sounds reasonable. In practice, it is unrealistic and disaster for a common consumer.
An average person has a job, a family, and countless daily responsibilities. Yet modern society often expects them to act like an engineer when evaluating technology, a lawyer when reading contracts, a financial analyst when making investments, and a medical expert when choosing healthcare plans.
No individual can realistically develop expertise in every area of life.
As products, services, and regulations become more sophisticated, the burden of understanding them increasingly falls on the consumer. When things go wrong, the responsibility is also shifted to the individual. We are often told that the information was available, the terms were disclosed, or the warning was included somewhere in the fine print.
Technically, this may be true. But information alone does not create understanding.
The result is a growing sense of decision fatigue. People spend hours researching products, comparing alternatives, reading reviews, and seeking advice, often without confidence that they are making the right choice. More choices do not always lead to better decisions; sometimes they simply increase uncertainty.
A healthy society should not require every citizen to become an expert in every domain. The purpose of institutions, regulations, standards, and professional expertise is to reduce complexity, not transfer it entirely to individuals.
Perhaps the real measure of progress should be, not how many options people have, but rather how easily they can make good decisions without becoming an expert on the product first.