Too much consumer choice can hamper decision making

Research by the University of Columbia has found that giving consumers too many options can impair their ability to make skillful choices and erode their ability to determine the optimal choice for them.  This research joins a growing body of research in psychology and economics that demonstrates why consumers can be better off with a strictly smaller choice set.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-06/cbs-htm063011.php

There have been anecdotal reports of developers finding it more difficult to sell new build housing where there is a wide range of different types of home, even though in the longer term it may result in poorer values resulting from a monotonous environment.