Peak-end rule

Experiences are judged by their most intense moment and their ending.

Emotion and memory Mainly on Post-purchase pages
Where it applies

Two of the eight page areas.

HomepageNot typical CategoryNot typical SearchNot typical ProductNot typical CartNot typical CheckoutAlso applies Post-purchaseMainly here

Not usually a sitewide principle. See everything at work on Post-purchase pages

How to use it

Four ways to use it, and one to avoid.

  • Make the order confirmation page clear and reassuring.
  • Send proactive delivery updates.
  • Finish with a good unboxing and a thank-you.
  • Fix the worst moment in the journey first, such as payment errors or a failed delivery.
  • Avoid: adding promotional content to order confirmations and delivery updates without consent or the soft opt-in, as that makes them direct marketing under PECR.
What the research found

Peak and end outweigh duration, but the plain average predicts about as well.

A meta-analysis found a large peak-end effect (r = 0.58) and almost no effect of duration.

A meta-analysis by Alaybek and colleagues (174 effect sizes) found a large peak-end effect (r = 0.58) and almost no effect of duration, though peak and end predicted about as well as the plain average. In interface tasks, Cockburn and colleagues found preference shifted strongly only when both peak and end were changed. In over 5,000 hotel stays, McCullough and colleagues found first impressions mattered more than the peak or the end.

Key research

Four sources, each checked.

Last reviewed

Kahneman, Fredrickson, Schreiber & Redelmeier (1993) When More Pain Is Preferred to Less: Adding a Better End Psychological Science Read the source Alaybek, Dalal, Fyffe, Aitken, Zhou, Qu, Roman & Baines (2022)Meta-analysis All's well that ends (and peaks) well? A meta-analysis of the peak-end rule and duration neglect Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes Read the source Cockburn, Quinn & Gutwin (2015) Examining the Peak-End Effects of Subjective Experience CHI Read the source McCullough, Padgett, Han, Lee, Martin & Bourdeau (2024) First impressions vs. The Peak-End Rule: Episodic evaluations in a service experience and the moderating effect of retrospective delay J. Business Research Read the source
Before you use it · UK law

Order confirmations and delivery updates are service messages, but adding promotional content makes them direct marketing, which needs consent or the soft opt-in under PECR.

This is simply a pointer to check, not legal advice. Seek legal advice before you put this principle into action.