Psychology of waiting

Waits that are uncertain, unexplained or empty feel longer and anger people more than known, explained or filled waits.

Attention and perception Mainly on Post-purchase pages
Where it applies

Three of the eight page areas.

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

It also applies sitewide, on every page. See everything at work on Post-purchase pages

How to use it

Three ways to put it to work.

  • Give a specific delivery window.
  • Send proactive delay notices with a reason and a new date.
  • Fill the wait with useful content, such as set-up guides.
What the research found

Information about a wait can make it more acceptable, but the effect varies.

In one experiment, information about a wait helped by making it feel acceptable, not by making it feel shorter.

Maister's propositions were untested. Taylor's survey of delayed airline passengers and Hui and Tse's experiment broadly supported them: in Hui and Tse, wait information improved evaluations by making the wait more acceptable, not shorter, and did nothing in short waits. In a call-centre field experiment, expected-wait messages made waits seem shorter but made long waits count more against the service.

Key research

Six sources, each checked.

Last reviewed

Maister (1985) The Psychology of Waiting Lines in The Service Encounter Read the source Taylor (1994) Waiting for Service: The Relationship between Delays and Evaluations of Service J. Marketing Read the source Hui & Tse (1996) What to Tell Consumers in Waits of Different Lengths: An Integrative Model of Service Evaluation J. Marketing Read the source Antonides, Verhoef & van Aalst (2002) Consumer perception and evaluation of waiting time: A field experiment J. Consumer Psychology Read the source Lin & Agarwal (2026)Meta-analysis Dual Perspectives of Customer Wait Time Perception: A Conceptual Framework and Meta-Analysis J. Service Research Read the source Cui, Lu, Sun & Golden (2024) Sooner or Later? Promising Delivery Speed in Online Retail Manufacturing & Service Operations Management Read the source