Why shoppers really insist on lining up for Apple products

While we’ve established Apple did not father the line-waiting culture, we also must acknowledge the company’s perfected it, too. Think back to every notable line-waiting moment in the past half-decade, and most all of them coincide with the release of an iPhone or iPad.

*Bing: Is the new iPhone right for you?

Ultimately, we can thank Apple’s unparalleled ability to hype and pimp a product – the true legacy, perhaps, of Steve Jobs – for stirring consumers’ need to camp out for phones and tablets, an effect that drums up a sense of scarcity among shoppers. If I don’t get my hands on this now, the thinking goes, it’ll be weeks before I will.

But MarketWatch shines a light on what truly prompts shoppers to wait out for new products.

According to marketing experts interviewed by the site’s Charles Passy, the shared experience of waiting in line with a group of people has become almost a reward unto itself.

Calling the coolness of waiting in line “queue chic,” Passy proves that “shopping has become a collective event,” in the words of one brand consultant he interviews.

“Retail experts say that by standing in a crowd, shoppers see themselves as making the right decision – a concept known as ‘social proof,’” Passy writes. (Social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people presume the cumulative actions of a group reflect what’s right in any given scenario.)

Retailers, of course, love this, as a line-up in front of a store – think a massive queue at the door of your city’s hottest nightclub – helps simulate the feeling of exclusivity. And that breeds the sense of scarcity we discussed above, and the whole thing comes full circle.

For many, then, while a new iPad at the end doesn’t hurt, the true reward of lining up for an Apple tablet may lie in the waiting itself.

By Jason Buckland, MSN Money