Having a larger assortment to choose from increases consumers' expectations about matching their preferences. The heightened expectations seem logical, since assortments containing more or more varied items should increase the degree to which preferences can be matched. In practice, however, as assortment size increases, the degree to which consumers realize better preference matches often rises relatively little. Larger assortments may not actually offer more variety; the market may simply not supply an envisioned offering; or in the absence of sophisticated search tools, consumers may miss a better preference match even if it is available Therefore, larger assortments can increase the likelihood that expectations will not be met, leaving consumers less satisfied with options chosen from larger rather than smaller assortments.