If you’re feeling guilty about giving a present late for Christmas or a birthday, there’s some positive news from a recent study.
Researchers discovered that people who receive gifts aren’t as upset about receiving them late as the givers worry they will be.
“Feel free to send that late present since it doesn’t seem to bother most recipients as much as givers fear,” stated Cory Haltman, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in marketing at The Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business.
In a series of six studies, Haltman and his team investigated the difference in perceptions between givers and recipients regarding the importance of timely gift-giving. Their findings were published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology.
It’s not surprising that many people stress over sending a gift late. A survey from the researchers revealed that 65% of Americans believe that gifts for holidays or birthdays should arrive punctually.
“Most U.S. consumers seem to think that gifts ought to be delivered on time — but our research indicates there’s more to the situation,” remarked study co-author Rebecca Reczek, a marketing professor at the Fisher College.
In one of the studies, students were asked to envision giving or receiving a birthday gift, specifically a pint of ice cream, either on time or two weeks late. They had to evaluate how a late gift might negatively impact their relationship.
The findings indicated that those who imagined giving the late gift thought it would damage the relationship more than those who imagined receiving it did.
According to the study, givers felt a stronger obligation than recipients to adhere to the promptness norm when it came to gift-giving.
Another aspect of the research found that participants were concerned that a late gift might suggest they cared less about the recipient.
“One fundamental role of gift-giving is to express care for the person receiving the gift, so it’s understandable that people fear a negative effect on their relationship if their present is late,” Reczek noted.
However, recipients had a different view on late gifts, according to Haltman.
“They didn’t interpret a late gift as a sign of lack of care. They were more understanding than givers anticipated,” he shared.
The anxiety over giving a gift late even influenced the types of gifts people chose to give.
In one instance, participants who envisioned giving a late gift basket expressed that they would feel less concerned if they crafted the basket themselves rather than purchasing a pre-assembled one with identical items.
“People believed that putting extra effort into the gift and personalizing it could compensate for its lateness,” Reczek explained.
Nevertheless, is there such a thing as being too late? Researchers asked participants to consider giving or receiving a birthday present that was two days late, two weeks late, or even two months late. The results indicated that both givers and receivers felt that the longer the delay, the more detrimental it would be to their relationship.
Even so, recipients always viewed the potential relationship damage as less severe than the givers anticipated, no matter how late the gift was.
Going beyond simply being late with a gift, the researchers also examined the implications of not giving a gift at all. Findings suggested that both givers and receivers agreed that failing to give a gift would negatively affect a relationship even more than a significant delay would.
“A late gift is certainly better than no gift at all,” asserted Haltman.
Interestingly, the study highlighted that while people generally prioritize timely gift-giving, givers placed greater weight on the importance of this norm than recipients did, according to the researchers.
Reczek reminded that everyone will find themselves in both roles of giver and receiver throughout their lives.
“If you find yourself giving a gift late, consider how you would feel about receiving a late gift,” she said. “Our findings suggest that this perspective can alleviate your worries about the impact of lateness on your relationship.”
The key takeaway: “Just remember to give the gift,” concluded Haltman.
Other co-authors of the study include Grant Donnelly, assistant professor of marketing at Ohio State, and Atar Herziger from Technion — Israel Institute of Technology.
