A “Wide” Variety: Effects of Horizontal versus Vertical Display on Assortment Processing, Perceived Variety, and Choice

Abstract

The authors investigate how horizontal versus vertical displays of alternatives affect assortment processing, perceived variety, and subsequent choice. Horizontal (vs. vertical) displays are easier to process due to a match between the human binocular vision field (which is horizontal in direction) and the dominant direction of eye movements required for processing horizontal displays. It is demonstrated that this processing fluency allows people to browse information more efficiently, which increases perceived assortment variety and ultimately leads to more variety being chosen, and if the number of options chosen is allowed to vary, it leads to more options chosen. It is shown that because people see more variety in a horizontal (vs. vertical) display, they process a horizontal assortment more extensively. When more variety is positive, they find the choice task easier and have a higher level of satisfaction and confidence about their choices. When more variety is not necessarily positive, for example, in a choice of a single most-preferred option, these effects disappear. Two field studies, an eye-tracking study, and two lab studies support these conclusions.