Why Scarcity Marketing Sells: "Hurry, Only a Few Left!"

Have you ever been shopping and rushed to check out because you saw red words that said, “Hurry, only one left!” These words make you feel like you need to act quickly. This can make customers buy something quickly without thinking much about it.

This is a form of digital marketing called scarcity marketing. A strategy that uses limited availability (of time, quantity, or access) to increase the perceived value of a product or offer and motivate faster purchasing decisions. The scarcity principle works because it can change what people buy, boost business sales, and increase consumer demand.

There is value in limited supply: the scarcity principle.

As a society we place a higher value on things that are less available. For instance, consider diamonds. A true, mined, clear, and large diamond will hold more value because of its rarity. For thousands of years, people have valued things more when they are rare, hard to find, or difficult to get. This can be seen anywhere you go. As a society, we often think things are worth more money when they are hard to find, hard to make, or hard to get.

We often value things with limited availability because we think rare things are more special. When we have to work harder to get something, our brains can changed our perceived value of something.

Social drivers are another reason people tend to favor scarcity. When you have something that is known to be of higher value or more difficult to get, it signals a higher status symbol to others around you.

Limited edition, high demand, and customer loyalty

Hermès is an example of a brand that uses scarcity marketing in their marketing strategy. By making the bag hard to get, only offering it to some shoppers, and making it very expensive, the brand has made a simple leather bag into a sign of status.

The Birkin bag is one of the most expensive, most talked about, and hardest to find handbags. It is a good example of how having fewer products can make people see them as more valuable. By using this sales model, Hermès made and sold a bag that is not easy for everyone to get.

When a worker offers you a Birkin bag, you may buy it even if you do not like the color, size, or style because you may not get another chance to buy this bag. This changed how rich buyers saw the brand because they now have to spend more time and work harder to get the bag they want due to the product scarcity.

What is scarcity marketing and what are scarcity marketing tactics?

At its core, scarcity marketing is to get consumers to buy now before a product or offer expires. This type of marketing uses a psychological trigger tied to fear of missing out. If someone is interested in an item and while debating the purchase, they see "Hurry, only one left!" they are more likely to consider that decision made for them by the limited quantity available.

Buyers’ remorse may have less of an effect on someone if they avoid missing out. Loss aversion shows that losing out on something feels more painful than gaining something new.

This type of scarcity marketing is not only used to sell products with limited stock, but it can also be seen with a brand’s product launches. A product drop is the release of a product that’s scarce in availability or scarce in quantity. This is when an online retailer picks a set date and time to release a group limited edition items.

This can make people more excited and want the products more. Knowing when a product will come out can give people a sense of urgency to purchase the items before they sell out. Zara, for example, releases new items in small amounts to make people want them and help them sell quickly. can restock products when needed, but always having them in stock may make customers less interested. Essentially low supply equals high demand.

If a customer waits too long or is not ready to buy, they may miss out because only a few products are left. These scarcity marketing techniques can make people want to buy faster and can help boost sales. Brands can also use these tricks to thank loyal customers by giving them early access to new or limited edition products.

When customers feel excited about getting a product before it sells out, the basic human behavior may be wanting to feel that excitement again. This can make customers more interested in future products and get them to pay attention when a brand has something new or limited. Over time, this excitement can help brands build a stronger and more loyal group of customers.

While scarcity marketing can help businesses make more sales, real limits are better than fake ones because customers are more likely to trust something that is real. As a buyer, it can be hard to know if a website is telling the truth when it says that an item is almost sold out. Because of this, a lot of marketplaces will put messages on listings to make it look as if there’s low inventory when there really isn’t.

Claims about low stock, countdown timers, and flash sales should always be honest, especially when people are shopping online. If a customer finds out that a store used a fake message, they may feel tricked. They may also stop trusting the store and may not want to shop there again. This shows why honesty is important when using scarcity.

Businesses can still make products feel special without lying about how many are left. Real limits can create excitement while also helping customers feel safe and respected when they buy something.

The fake scarcity marketing strategy works, for now...

This type of marketing is still used in many sales plans to help increase sales. However, scarcity works best when it is real, keeps customer trust, and helps the business. Today, many shoppers want to buy from brands they can trust. They look for brands that are honest, fair, and clear about what they sell. Social media has also made it easier for people to speak out about brands.

A brand can quickly face bad reviews, boycotts, or being “cancelled” if people feel it has done something wrong. In online marketing, brands should use honest ways to create urgency instead of making customers feel rushed all the time. Being open and honest is becoming more important, so companies need to change with it. Because of this, marketers should find new ways to create urgency while staying true to their brand.

🪽 Written by Mackenzie Sharpless