I am in the market for a digital camera. This should be an exciting buying decision. I look online and browse at PC World and Comet. I am overwhelmed by choice. Sony Cyber, Panasonic Lumix, Nikon CoolPix... One with Super CCD, another with vibration reduction. I want to scream.

There are over 300 point-and-shoot cameras on the market. I understand that manufacturers want to offer a range of gadgets at every price point, but the fact remains: I don't want 300 cameras. I want one. One excellent camera. A camera that can take decent pictures to accompany the pieces I write and easily upload and share them, possibly edit them.

We grow up with the idea that choice is good. In a free market, choice reduces cost as there is always a surplus, and this feeds competition and drives down prices. Furthermore, more choice is supposed to equal more quality and freedom. Improved quality and freedom equals more happiness. And happiness is what we (supposedly) all strive for.

But are we not actually witnessing a 'choice paralysis' with technology? Have technology manufacturers and retailers taken choice too far? Have we reached the stage where choice is no longer a benefit to women but more of a curse? And who is to blame?

My latest research with the Lady Geek panel highlights that women feel overwhelmed and confused by the amount of choice in the technology industry. Forrester found that over half of all women in the UK walk out of technology shops because they cannot find what they are looking for. More than 75 per cent of women think that there is too much choice out there. Companies such as Apple keep telling us that they have over 10,000 applications when the typical maximum number of applications women use is only five. Orange is always waffling on about its racoon and dolphin packages, but who on earth understands or cares about a racoon 300 plus? Technology companies and retailers are only fuelling the overwhelming bewilderment that many women have about technology.

Dan Ariely, a behavioural economist, argues that there is too much choice in society as a whole. His studies suggest that consumers are more likely to buy a product when there is less choice, whereas an excess of choice leads to indecision and inaction. The key here lies in understanding who is to blame for all this unnecessary choice.

Retailers, with shelves upon shelves of nigh-on identical products from varying manufacturers, and scant guidance to help women make their choice, must be the biggest culprit. Ultimately it's a question of lack of conviction: many retailers are reluctant to edit, prune and trim the endless array of goods on offer, forcing people to take on a complicated selection process - people who often feel ill-equipped to decide between one of 20 identical, unremarkable products.

Let me be clear. Choice can be a good thing if managed appropriately. But if women feel overwhelmed by the choice, technology retailers are adding no value to women's lives. Retailers must help us make informed decisions. John Lewis had a brilliant campaign a few years ago highlighting the value that they offer by selecting the best in class of each product.

Women want retailers to adopt the role of a brutal but expert editor, taking a red pen to the swathes of clone-like products on offer in an attempt to navigate the tyranny of choice. And help find one product that is right for them.

Not hundreds.

Just one.

Belinda Parmar is the founder of Lady Geek helping technology companies understand and sell to women. You can follow Belinda Parmar on twitter.