Scarcity Marketing

By Jenish Modi

14 min Read

November 19, 2022

Marketing strategies may aid advertising teams in promoting goods more successfully, increasing sales and earnings. Some marketing strategies, like scarcity marketing, focus on a product’s uniqueness, limited supply, or high cost to encourage more people to buy it. You might be curious to learn more about the strategies of scarcity marketing if you want to boost revenue for your marketing team. This article goes over the definition of scarcity marketing.

What is Scarcity Marketing?

By restricting the availability of a product, marketers may raise the price by using the scarcity marketing strategy.

This kind of marketing is based on the economic scarcity concept, which holds that a decrease in supply will result in a rise in demand. Because it is more difficult to obtain a product, consumers are more inclined to purchase it, according to this theory. This is because a limited supply makes a thing more desired. Not quite yet, though. A product’s price grows according to how in demand it is.

Typically, in scarcity marketing, marketers establish this fictitious scarcity so that potential buyers might find it more alluring, exclusive, and valuable—leading to an immediate purchase or shelf sweep.

The purpose of scarcity marketing in businesses

Businesses frequently employ scarcity marketing to encourage customers to buy quickly before a product sells out or a promotion expires. Customers are more likely to buy when they see that a product is running low in supply because they want to make sure they acquire it before it sells out. You may increase sales for your business as a marketer by emphasizing the limited availability of goods or special deals and encouraging clients to buy.

Scarcity Marketing

Why Does Scarcity Marketing Work, Exactly?

Here are a few of the factors that contribute to scarcity marketing’s continued effectiveness.

Customers believe it to be well-liked as well as of top quality

When a product is in high demand or scarce, people assume it must be a good one. Otherwise, why would the supply run out so quickly? People are more likely to purchase the remaining inventory since they anticipate the product’s popularity.

The product speaks for itself

Running out of stock indicated that everything about the product was perfect. It stands as a testament all by itself. What remains of the item reveals:

“Hey, I’m the best, and if you don’t pick me now, you won’t have another chance.”

Who among us has the power to reject that? So you don’t even need to advertise a limited-edition product. It promotes itself. And for that reason, it keeps working.

The Public Loves Exclusive and Rare Items

What kind of product comes to mind when you think about limited edition? Customers seem to like purchasing products that are not available to some. An exclusive fountain pen, for instance, makes you feel distinguished. It is the reason why people are willing to pay high prices for original artwork.

Customers feel valued and a part of an elite group when they are treated with exclusivity. It encourages customers to buy the goods. Using terms that imply exclusivity in your site text is a straightforward way to create exclusivity.

FOMO is a typical human emotion

Fear of missing out, or FOMO, is a common emotion. The uneasiness one feels when they aren’t a part of an event or an exciting incident is wonderfully captured in the quote.

There is a lot of reactive buying when this occurs since it might be a common and contagious sensation. Because of this, scarcity marketing is still successful. Watch the effects spread after you incorporate them into your brand.

Scarcity Marketing

Marketing strategies based on scarcity

If you want to boost sales for your business, think about using the following scarcity marketing strategies:

Products nearly sold

Showing that a product is nearly sold out or has low supply is one technique to employ scarcity marketing for an online business. So that customers are constantly aware when there isn’t much of a product available to buy, you may utilize software to show real-time warnings of low supply on your business’s website. This can nudge reluctant buyers into purchasing before the item runs out, which is helpful for buyers who ordinarily hold off and end up forgetting about the item as they go about their day.

Timers for shopping carts

The products in a customer’s cart can be protected for a certain period using cart timers, preventing other customers from purchasing the contents. Customers must choose whether they want to purchase the goods right now or retain them in their basket and wait, which is very helpful for products that are restricted in supply or have low stock. To encourage consumers to finish their purchase, you can use this strategy to add a real-time cart timer to your company’s website and send them an email when their cart is about to expire.

Early bird specials

Early access discounts are typically limited-time price reductions on product pre-orders or exclusive promotions for devoted consumers to obtain a product before anybody else. These offers encourage buyers to purchase a product before the discount expires and other customers may obtain it, which could cause it to run out of supply more rapidly. Sending emails to current customers with information about the promotion and posting a banner on your store’s website or physical location with the date the discount expires are both effective ways to employ early access discounts.

Restricted bonus items

If you want to get customers to spend a set amount of money or when you have a lot of little items to offer, you may utilize this strategy. Customers can receive additional products for a limited time when they spend that certain amount at your shop. Utilizing inexpensive or overstocked products that don’t cause a loss for your business lets you sell more things utilizing this strategy. This is particularly helpful around holidays when people exchange presents since consumers would like to purchase additional items.

Delivery timers for same-day and next-day deliveries

This scarcity approach frequently motivates customers to make a purchase sooner so they may acquire their stuff more quickly. Some online shops offer next-day or same-day deliveries for products bought before a specific time. Since many businesses that provide delivery services also have free delivery minimums, it can also encourage people to buy more items at once. By displaying a countdown on your website’s checkout page that informs customers how much longer they may purchase for speedy delivery, you can employ this method.

Items that are limited edition

Selling limited-edition or unique items, which have an immediate value due to their low availability and strong demand, is another scarcity strategy that could be effective for your business. To create distinct products that appeal to various audiences and increase your potential consumer base, you may also think about partnering with other businesses or well-known public figures. To make the most of special edition products, aim to generate buzz about their impending release to ensure that as many people as possible are aware of them when they become available.

Platform-specific agreements

Offers only available through specific platforms, such as discounts for purchases made through an app or sales only available on a website, are referred to as platform-specific agreements. These offers emphasize the length of a discount’s duration and how buyers may access it, as opposed to restricting the number of goods that can be purchased. A strategy like this might assist your business in gaining more users across various platforms, which is beneficial for mobile applications because it allows them convenient access to your store wherever they go.

Buy timers and countdowns

Some businesses find it advantageous to use purchase timers or countdowns on things, especially if they are up for auction. You may heighten the urgency of a consumer to purchase an item by including a clock on your website that counts down to the moment when it will no longer be offered for sale. This may also increase bidding on auction items and drive up prices as more people place bids, bringing in more revenue for you and raising the value of comparable goods on the same market.

Product cycles

Selling limited-time items may increase sales for your business during specific seasons and generate excitement each time you introduce a new product or one that is in great demand from the previous year. Depending on the sort of business you work for, you may sell seasonal goods like food and drink, clothes and accessories, or practical products to draw in clients who want or desire these unique items at certain points during the year. When customers are enthusiastic about seasonal goods, they frequently tell their friends about them as well, expanding your consumer base.

Products that are widely used or in great demand

Including information about how many buyers are interested in a product in online product descriptions is another approach to utilizing scarcity marketing to boost sales. This might involve showing the number of online users who have looked at the product, added it to their basket, or loved it. Customers may want the product more because they realize that you may eventually run out of it, even if you may not be restricting the actual amount of things accessible any more than usual.

Conclusion

You may enhance your brand recognition with your high-quality items and increase conversions by using scarcity marketing in your sales approach. The goal is to execute it well while avoiding overexertion. You get less spammy essentially through moderation.

Get more customers, increase your sales, and attract clients who pay premium price.