Meteor -- the JS framework -- uses something much like this, which they call "latency compensation". It's a core part of their ideology. Data is prefetched or given default values that give the user at least something to look at until the actual data is fetched with AJAX.
Beyond just using spinners, Meteor will populate the fields with client-side cached data that might be a little old, and then when it receives a response from the server it updates the client-side DB with the new data and refreshes the view. If the data hasn't changed at all, the process can be completely transparent -- just an instantaneous UI update.
Because the Meteor framework encompasses both the client and server side, this can be "abstracted away" from the app developer. The abstraction isn't perfect of course but it makes it much easier to implement these kinds of ultra-responsive Web UIs.
Beyond just using spinners, Meteor will populate the fields with client-side cached data that might be a little old, and then when it receives a response from the server it updates the client-side DB with the new data and refreshes the view. If the data hasn't changed at all, the process can be completely transparent -- just an instantaneous UI update.
Because the Meteor framework encompasses both the client and server side, this can be "abstracted away" from the app developer. The abstraction isn't perfect of course but it makes it much easier to implement these kinds of ultra-responsive Web UIs.