The Customer's Perspective on Waiting Time in Electronic Marketing

From the perspective of range theory we explored whether or not consumer evaluation of waiting time depends on a comparison between the actual waiting time and the expected range of waiting time that is specified in the marketing communication. A 2 × 2 between-subjects design was employed, and evaluation of waiting time served as a critical dependent variable. Results indicated that consumers' evaluation of waiting time was significantly different when they were advised of different ranges of waiting time guarantee. For the condition of 3-7 days of waiting time guarantee, participants' evaluation of waiting time was significantly favorable because the actual number of waiting days was less than the maximum of 7 in the guarantee.