If more Shopify brands understood this one shopper behavior, they'd sell way more.
It's not a design flaw. It's not your pricing. It's not even your ad copy.
It's something built into your shopper's brain.
What's the problem?
It's called ambiguity bias - and it could be silently tanking your conversion rate.
Ambiguity bias is a cognitive shortcut where people avoid options that feel uncertain or unclear. It's the brain's way of saying:
"If I'm not sure how this will go, I'll pass."
And it happens constantly in eCommerce.
How ambiguity bias affects your store
Imagine a shopper lands on your product page.
They're interested. Maybe even excited.
But they start asking questions:
- Will this actually look good on me?
- Is this fabric see-through?
- What size should I order?
- How big is it... really?
And when they don't get those answers quickly or visually, they bounce.
No matter how good your product is, uncertainty kills momentum. That's ambiguity bias in action.
In fact, research shows that shoppers are significantly less likely to purchase when information is missing or unclear. The brain prefers known risks over uncertain rewards - even if the unknown option is better. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9957612/
Why this matters for online shopping
In physical stores, people can touch, try on, smell, compare. Online, that experience is stripped away.
So shoppers make up their minds based on:
- Images
- Reviews
- Social proof
- And increasingly... video
When those pieces are missing, they don't just hesitate - they leave.
And when they leave, they don't always come back.
The fix: reduce ambiguity, build trust
Reducing ambiguity = reducing friction.
Yes, strong product descriptions and size guides help. But the most effective tool? Video.
Shoppable videos do 3 powerful things:
- Provide context - show how the product works in real life
- Demonstrate usage - let shoppers see scale, fit, texture
- Build trust - by putting real people behind the product
This kind of clarity gives shoppers the confidence to click "add to cart."
As we explained in our breakdown on choice overload and conversion rate, shoppers freeze when there's too much going on or too little info. https://www.jointellos.com/blog/choice-overload-shopify-conversion-killer
Video clears that fog.
Want proof? Just watch TikTok
The massive rise of short-form video shopping isn't random.
Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube have trained shoppers to:
- Expect motion
- Rely on personality-driven reviews
- Make decisions in seconds
If your product page doesn't match that experience, it feels riskier - even if it isn't.
That's why we built Tellos: to make it effortless for any Shopify or D2C brand to turn social content into shoppable video experiences - and eliminate ambiguity bias for good.
It works automatically. Just keep posting content on socials. Tellos AI grabs it, tags the products, and places it on your site where it converts best.
You can try it free here: https://apps.shopify.com/tellos-shoppable-videos
TL;DR - More clarity = more confidence = more sales
Ambiguity bias is real. Shoppers avoid what feels unclear.
If you're not using video to build trust and show how your products really work, you're leaving money on the table.
Start reducing uncertainty today - and watch what happens to your conversion rate.