Should you join a line that formed before a business opened?
A queue is evidence of expectations.
Sometimes. Early queues often indicate that customers expect limited availability, exceptional value, or unusually high demand. The queue itself is a signal, but not necessarily proof of quality.
A line forming before opening hours contains information long before the doors open.
The hidden mechanism is expectation concentration. Customers are not only reacting to current conditions. They are reacting to what they believe will happen later.
Imagine a bakery known for producing a limited number of specialty loaves. Customers may arrive early because they expect inventory to disappear quickly.
A second-order effect develops when others observe the queue. Visibility attracts additional customers, making the original expectation increasingly accurate.
People often think queues form because something is good. Many queues form because people expect something to become unavailable.
