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Could Wasting Consumers’ Time in a Negotiation Make Them More Likely to Purchase?

Making a buyer wait unexpectedly might be a great tool in a price negotiation, shows a new study.
Could Wasting Consumers Time In A Negotiation Make Them More Likely To Purchase
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Pranav Jindal
Associate Professor of Marketing and the Research Director of the ISB Institute of Data Science (IIDS). His expertise lies in pricing, price negotiations, salesforce management, sales compensation, and behavioural economics. He is a leading expert in conjoint analysis, best known for his work on structural conjoint methods.
Key Takeaways
  • When sellers take longer than expected to respond in a negotiation, buyers become more likely to accept the deal and even agree to a higher price.
  • The longer buyers wait, the more they justify their initial interest, perceive the product as more valuable and second-guess their lower offers.
  • If buyers know in advance that a response will be slow, the effect disappears. The delay must feel natural and unexpected to influence purchasing behaviour.