[bluetomcat]

Is anyone else failing to see a legitimate need for sticky tape in tens of different colours? What about the shopping experience of the future, when such shops are destined to be the "future of retail"? Suddenly you are now spending an hour choosing between balloons of different shapes and colours or the perfectly matching button for your shirt. It's an illusion of choice, fueling pointless production of variations of the same thing and targeting your attention and time.

[saalweachter]

What do you mean "a legitimate need"?

Why do people need paint in more than one or two colors? Why do people need multiple styles of clothes, beyond a "summer uniform" and "winter uniform"? Why do people bother to maintain both vi and emacs when only one is necessary?

Most of the time, any tape will do, but sometimes you want the perfect paisley to complement your wrapping paper choice. Since most people don't care most of the time, most stores that sell tape won't have more than one or two kinds, so you go to a specialty retailer to find the unusual stuff for unusual circumstances.

[jameskegel]

I’d imagine this line of thinking is what Apple hopes for, people burdened with the luxury of choice who just want someone to tell them what they want.

[bartvanH]

Color is not the only variable here, there are many variables in picking a tape for a job. Of course usually just plain tape will do, but the article gave a very good example:

“Imagine you are a stage technician and you need to tape a lamp that gets very hot to a pillar,” Ghouneim says. “If you go to [DIY store chain] Bauhaus, they wouldn’t know what to do. But I can tell you that you need a polyester film with a special type of silicon glue that can stand up to 300 degrees. I have sticky tapes in my store that mere mortals would never dare to dream of.

[EliRivers]

My experience of such stores is just the opposite. When I don't care what kind of <something> I get, I just go to the supermarket or buy whatever is cheap on ebay. The choice takes a couple of minutes.

When I go to a specialist store, which I do every so often, my choice has been made before I walk in. That's why I'm there; because I already know what I want, and I know that I can't find what I want in the supermarket or by trawling eBay. I'm just hoping the specialist store has it or can get it. I spend less time choosing in the specialist store.

[jdietrich]

Adhesive tape is an incredibly sophisticated and versatile product. Yes, there are silly products (emoji duct tape) but there are also an immense variety of tapes with uniquely useful properties.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/All...

[pbhjpbhj]

Your comment seems well made, and to make a good point.

We waste a lot of productivity on providing choice.

I don't think pure utilitarianism is the answer, but it seems we could do better.

But then, noone needs party balloons at all ...