Let Me Think About It: Evidence of Choice Deprivation, Not Overload, in Charitable Giving

We present comprehensive experimental evidence that expanding the number of charitable options enhances both donation outcomes and donor experience, suggesting choice deprivation rather than choice overload. In a pre-registered online experiment with over 2,248 participants donating real money to UK charities (average donation of £1.59 out of £2.50), we find that increasing the number of available charities raises total donations robustly by approximately £0.04. Furthermore, allowing participants to donate to multiple charities-rather than restricting them to one-boosts donations by £0.23 on average, without increasing regret or diminishing satisfaction. Other mediators-difficulty, deliberation, and familiarity-do not explain the impact of treatments on giving behaviour. Our design rules out alternative explanations, including self-interest, ease of donation, or perceived importance of giving, and highlights that more choices encourage thoughtful engagement with the donation decision. These findings challenge the literature on choice overload and suggest that both charitable platforms and individual charities can enhance impact by offering donors more choices, such as distinct programmes, causes, or impact areas, without undermining donor satisfaction or increasing regret.