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Related Experiment Videos

Defeating feature fatigue.

Roland T Rust1, Debora Viana Thompson, Rebecca W Hamilton

  • 1Marketing Department, Robert H Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park, USA.

Harvard Business Review
|February 21, 2006
PubMed
Summary
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Feature bloat, or featuritis, occurs when products have too many features, making them difficult to use. Consumers initially prefer high-feature products but value usability more after use, presenting a design dilemma for manufacturers.

Area of Science:

  • Consumer Behavior
  • Product Design
  • Marketing Strategy

Background:

  • Products often suffer from "feature bloat" or "featuritis," leading to excessive features.
  • This overabundance of features can significantly decrease product usability, causing "feature fatigue" for consumers.
  • Manufacturers face a challenge balancing product capability with user-friendliness.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how consumers perceive and weigh product capability against usability.
  • To understand consumer decision-making regarding products with varying feature sets.
  • To provide insights for manufacturers on optimizing product design for long-term customer value.

Main Methods:

  • Conducted three empirical studies to analyze consumer preferences.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Examined consumer choices between high-feature and simpler product models.
  • Investigated how customization influences feature selection and subsequent usability perception.

    • Main Results:

    • Consumers initially select products with more features, despite acknowledging usability challenges.
    • Customization options lead consumers to add even more features.
    • Post-usage, product usability becomes a more significant factor for consumers than initial capability.

    Conclusions:

    • Manufacturers face a dilemma between maximizing initial sales with high-feature products and enhancing customer lifetime value through usability.
    • An analytical model suggests balancing features to maximize the net present value of customer profit streams.
    • Recommendations include designing simpler products, aiding consumer learning, focusing on single-task excellence, and utilizing prototype-based market research.