Do you remember that typical phrase "People value things more when they're about to lose them"?
It occurs because we think that "if something is scarce, it is because others seek it, so it will be because of good quality." People give more value to what is scarce just because it is, regardless of whether it is better or not.
And this is precisely what the shortage technique does.
But, how do brands use it?
There are two ways: Shortage in terms of quantity and shortage in terms of time.
When we refer to a shortage in terms of quantity, it shows that there are few units left, that there is a scarce of them, or that they are limited in amount.
This is widely used by large online sales platforms such as Amazon, Zalando, or eBay. They usually put the remaining units in stock next to the product description.
Regarding shortage in terms of time, it sets a deadline to buy that product or accept that offer. Usually, it is used with phrases like "offer valid till ..." or "offer valid from ... until ..." trying to cause the consumer the need to buy the product because later it would be impossible.
Companies that most use this variant are supermarkets such as Spar, Mercadona, Lidl, etc.
“Booked 2 times for your dates in the last 24 hours on our site,” which tells you this hotel is desirable.
“Only 6 rooms left on our site,” example of shortage in terms of quantity
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