For gifts, the saying is worth: better late than never!

The race to gifts (the recent parties reminded us!) It can turn into a nightmare of stressbetween the choice of the right gift and the worry to make him arrive in time. A recent study found that over half of the Americans feel overwhelmed by perfect gift pressure And punctual. But good news comes from a series of research conducted by Ohio State University, soon published on Journal of Consumer Psychology: whoever is preparing to make a gift tends to overestimated the negative consequences of a late gift.

The weight of social norms

Many donors fear that a late gift is perceived as a lack of Attentionputting the relationship with the recipient at risk. However, the study reveals that recipients are much less worried about the moment of delivery. This gap of perception explains why People are struggling to respect the deadlinesoften choosing less expensive or lower quality gifts just to deliver them in time.

In a study conducted on the occasion of Mother’s Day, 70% of the participants preferred to send a cheaper gift But punctual, rather than a more expensive one that would arrive late. A similar trend has been observed for Father’s Day.

And to compensate for the delay …

Another experiment has shown that i donors feel they can compensate for the delay with an EXT gesturera, how to customize the gift or assemble it by hand. This type of attention is perceived as a tangible sign of affection, attenuating the impact of a postponed delivery.

Even two months late is better than not receiving

The research advises against, however, of Don’t make any gift. In a survey with 903 participants, the recipients declared that Not receiving anything is worse than receiving a late gift, even if delivered two months after the occasion.

In short, if the perfect gift is exhausted or if the shipping times do not play in favor, better a late gift than no gift. An unexpected gift, even in January, can still be a pleasant surprise.