Customers are increasingly being asked at the checkout whether they would like to leave a 10, 15 or 20 per cent tip. According to Robert Dur, Professor at Erasmus School of Economics, this is no coincidence: such choices tap directly into human behaviour. ‘It’s all somewhat driven by emotion whether you tip and how much you give,’ he says. ‘These kinds of prompts can nudge people just a little in one direction or the other.’
Dur explains tipping mainly through the principle of reciprocity. ‘The tendency to want to give something back when someone has done something for you,’ he explains. Feelings of shame or guilt also play a role. Not leaving a tip can feel uncomfortable, especially when that decision has to be made visibly on a payment terminal.
According to the economist, the shift to electronic payments initially reduced tipping, because generosity became less visible. That is precisely why new digital “nudges” can be effective. Nevertheless, Dur does not see the tip screens as a major problem. ‘It’s a grey area, you don’t have to tip, it’s an option,’ he says.
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You can read the full article from Algemeen Dagblad, 17 January 2026, above (in Dutch).
For more information, please contact Ronald de Groot, Media & Public Relations Officer at Erasmus School of Economics: rdegroot@ese.eur.nl, mobile: +31 6 53 641 846.
