A study from the Journal of Consumer Research, first impressions really do count. Over time anyway.

Academics Nicole Votolato Montgomery (College of William and Mary) and H. Rao Unnava (Ohio State University) gave test subjects two holiday scenarios.   One started well but ended badly, and the other started badly but ended well.

They were then asked which one they’d most likely pay money for.   You’d imagine most people would say the holiday that ended well, and consumers who were asked about the experience immediately afterwards agreed.

However after a period of time consumers chose the scenario that started well as they couldn’t remember the final events as well.

“Consumers exhibit a preference for experiences that improve over time versus worsen over time when evaluations are assessed immediately, and they prefer the reverse when evaluations are assessed following a delay,” write the authors.

“Our findings suggest that marketers may engineer experiences to maximize customer enjoyment by improving the most memorable events. For long-term customer enjoyment, marketers should attempt to make consumers’ initial experiences with a service or product very positive.”

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