Product Scarcity Research Articles

The paradox of product scarcity: Catalyzing the speed of innovation diffusion

AbstractProduct shortages are known to slow down the diffusion process. However, we counterintuitively theorize and empirically demonstrate that under specific conditions of social influence, the diffusion process may be accelerated by early product scarcity. Using an Agent-Based framework and Genetic Algorithm-based estimation, we analyzed 20 product categories to identify the critical trade-off influencing diffusion: the interplay of the social influence ratio of waiting customers to adopters, the external influence, and level of product scarcity. Strategic managerial actions can accelerate the adoption of products. For example, in the case of fitness trackers, we were able to simulate speed-up by up to two years compared to the standard Bass model. Importantly, we introduce a novel framework to study competition dynamics, analyzing how the timing of market entry and the production capacity of competitors, along with the initial installed capacity of the pioneering firm affect diffusion speed. This acceleration, whether due to managerial foresight or serendipity, necessitates careful orchestration to harness the enthusiasm of waiting customers and strategically allocate marketing spending on social media platforms, thereby differentially amplifying the influence of adopters and potential customers.

The Motivation Factors for Chinese Female Tourists to Participate in ‘Pin’ Themed Afternoon Tea at Luxury Hotels in Macau from the Sharing Economy Perspective and Self-Determination Theory

ABSTRACT The sharing economy has changed the consumption pattern of hospitality services. This study explored a new situation under the sharing economy service – the “Pin” afternoon tea (a form of group purchases) – and determined consumers’ motivations for participation. Qualitative research was conducted in the context of the sharing economy theory and self-determination theory. The results of interviews with 11 Chinese female tourists revealed nine motivation factors in five main dimensions (financial benefits, social benefits, sustainability, enjoyment, and novelty) of “Pin” afternoon teas: cost saving, product scarcity, expanding the circle of friends, social status, environmental consciousness, enjoying the processes, enjoying the foods, enjoying the environment, and experiencing new things. This study contributes to hospitality research by indicating how a niche market (Chinese female tourists) is motivated by a new sharing economy model (the “Pin” afternoon tea). Knowing these motivations may help the hospitality industry formulate appropriate strategies to speed tourism recovery.

Evaluation of Fuel Consumption and Exhaust Emissions in a Single Cylinder Four-Stroke Diesel Engine Using Biodiesel Derived from Chicken Waste with Additives

Biodiesel is a renewable, locally generated fuel made from vegetable oils, trans fats, or recycled restaurant grease for use in diesel automobiles and other diesel-powered equipment. The physical qualities of biodiesel are comparable to those of petroleum diesel. Biodiesel is used in compression-ignition engines in the same way as petroleum diesel. Biofuel can be made from biomass, but according to the Indian National Policy on Biofuels, biofuel extraction from edible oils is not permitted because it would result in a massive increase in consumer goods prices and perhaps lead to product scarcity. Hence, there is a need to search for alternative biofuel so that it does not affect our nation's national policy. Recently there has been a drastic increase in the consumption of chicken grown in farms. There is a huge problem in disposing of their waste. One major difficulty in waste treatment is poultry manure, often known as slaughter waste. This waste is sometimes dumped on wastelands, roadsides, and the banks of rivers, lakes, and ponds. This creates more sanitary problems for society. According to polls, poultry feces begin to decompose in around three hours. The odor of butcher's waste causes a lot of pollution in the air, as well as an increase in the density of bacteria in the atmosphere. Measures have been taken by the government for the safe disposal of these wastes. One of the major ways of disposal is to recycle this chicken slaughter waste in a useful manner so that it can serve society in a positive way. This could be done by converting this waste into fuel through various processes such as rendering, hydrolysis, extraction, acid esterification, alkaline transesterification, and finally by the extraction process. This produced fuel could be blended with existing diesel in varying concentrations and used in diesel engine-powered vehicles. In this work, the fuel is extracted from the chicken waste and blended with pure diesel and an Al2O3 additive in various proportions. These combinations are then tested on a single-cylinder diesel engine for fuel consumption and emission analysis. The results exhibited an overall better performance when compared to pure diesel.

End-to-end solution for automatic beverage stock detection in supermarkets based on image processing and convolutional neural networks

This study addresses the challenge of detecting and identifying stock shortages in large warehouses through an advanced algorithm that integrates image processing and artificial intelligence techniques. Presently, many companies contend with the limitations of manual inventory management, such as susceptibility to errors, slow inventory actualizations, and consequent adverse economic effects. In contrast to solutions based on robotics, the proposed approach continuously monitors shelves throughout warehouse aisles using several fixed cameras, each connected to a single-board computer that processes the acquired images, identifies stock levels using deep learning, and updates a centralized database with stock analysis results. The algorithmic process begins with an image validation step based on a convolutional neural network to ensure obstacle-free images of the shelves. Subsequently, an application-specific YOLOv2 detector trained via transfer learning identifies product types captured in the images and estimates their stock levels. The proposed solution not only reduces the need for manual intervention and operational costs but also drastically enhances inventory supervision efficiency. The fully implemented system achieves an average accuracy of over 98 %, surpassing the human visual inspection performance. The proposed solution also incorporates the aspect of user-friendliness through a developed mobile application. This application connects to the centralized database, allowing inventory supervisors to receive alerts when the stock of a product falls below a user-configured threshold. This technological integration within a centralized system signifies a substantial advancement in inventory management, offering prompt responses to product scarcity situations and optimizing warehouse operational efficiency.

Perceiving less but wasting more: The relationship between perceived resource scarcity and consumer food waste

Consumers' food-related behaviors often culminate in significant food waste. Surprisingly however, limited attention has been given to psychological reasons why this occurs. Across four studies, this research suggests that, because perceived resource scarcity activates a resource acquisition goal, under conditions where product scarcity is not present it leads consumers to engage in inaccurate over-acquisition of resources (i.e., food), resulting in greater waste. Studies 1a (quasi-experimental field study) and 1b (lab experiment) test the role of perceived resource scarcity in predicting food acquisition and waste. Studies 2a and 2b are correlational and measure household food waste to demonstrate that resource acquisition accuracy mediates the relationship between perceived resource scarcity and food waste.

Stormy sales: the influence of weather expectations on FMCG consumption

PurposeThis study aims to understand the impact of extreme weather events on fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) consumption and to examine the role of anticipated product scarcity and FMCG types on such behavior.Design/methodology/approachThis paper conducted five studies, combining archival data analysis with behavioral experiments. The archival data included sales data from a supermarket chain and weather data from the National Weather Service. The experiments were designed to test the effect of extreme weather cues on consumption, the psychological mechanism behind this effect and moderators.FindingsThis research found that consumers’ anticipation of extreme weather events significantly increases their consumption of FMCGs. This research further discovered that these behaviors are driven by anticipated product scarcity and moderated by consumers’ altruisms and FMCG types.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations of the research include the reliance on reported sales data and self-reported measures, which could introduce biases. The authors also primarily focused on extreme weather events, leaving other types of disasters unexplored. Furthermore, cultural differences in disaster response might influence results, yet the studies do not fully address these nuances. Despite these limitations, the findings provide critical insights for FMCG retailers and policymakers, suggesting strategies for managing demand surges during disasters. Moreover, understanding consumer behavior under impending disasters could inform intervention strategies, potentially mitigating panic buying and helping ensure equitable resource distribution. Last, these findings encourage further exploration of environmental influences on consumer behavior.Practical implicationsThe findings have practical implications for products, brand managers and retailers in managing stock levels and product distribution during disasters. Furthermore, understanding the psychological mechanisms of these behaviors could inform policymakers’ designs of public interventions for equitable resource allocation during extreme weather events.Social implicationsThe research provides significant social implications by highlighting how extreme weather events impact FMCG consumption. This understanding can guide public policymakers in creating efficient disaster management plans. Specifically, anticipating surges in FMCG purchases can inform policies for maintaining price stability and preventing resource shortages, mitigating societal stress during crises. Moreover, these findings encourage public education around responsible purchasing during disasters, potentially reducing panic buying. By collaborating with FMCG manufacturers and retailers, governments can ensure a steady supply of essentials during extreme weather events. Thus, the research can play a crucial role in enhancing societal resilience in the face of impending disasters.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to integrate the impact of extreme weather events on consumption behavior with the psychological theory of anticipated product scarcity. The unique focus on FMCGs offers a novel perspective on consumer behavior literature.

Translating virtual product scarcity in gaming to real‐world brand value

AbstractThis study explores how the scarcity of virtual products in virtual gaming spaces influences brand evaluation in the real world. While previous studies suggest that scarcity in virtual spaces can enhance brand value, the mechanisms and conditions under which this effect occurs (e.g., the characteristics of virtual spaces, consumer traits, and stimulus). Drawing on insights from scarcity research on physical products, we propose that the effects of scarcity may stem from the expectation of impression management. We developed a model that incorporates insights from physical product scarcity research with the unique aspects of virtual spaces and consumer characteristics. Through four studies, we discovered that the effect of supply scarcity in enhancing brand evaluation is pronounced when the space is online and when consumers have a high level of social presence. Furthermore, in cases where social presence is not high, encounters with others wearing scarce products were found to enhance the scarcity effect. Companies can enhance brand evaluation by strategically using virtual product scarcity in online gaming, particularly when targeting consumers with high social presence or creating opportunities for players to interact with others wearing scarce items.

Does the scarcity marketing of tourism cultural and creative products trigger impulsive consumption?

Based on the consumption impulse formation enactment (CIFE) model, this paper explores the role mechanism of tourism cultural and creative product scarcity on tourists’ impulsive consumption intention through experiments. The findings reveal that supply scarcity (vs. demand scarcity) is more likely to stimulate tourists’ impulsive consumption intention of tourism cultural and creative products. Moreover, perceived uniqueness and perceived value mediate that process. Furthermore, creative performance is an effective moderator, with tourists responding more enthusiastically to supply scarcity when creative performance is high and, conversely, responding more sensitively to demand scarcity. Our study highlights product scarcity on the controversy over the scarcity effect and contributes to creative marketing in tourism cultural and creative products.

Research on the negative effect of product scarcity appeals on the purchase intention of green products and its mechanism.

Studies have shown that product scarcity appeals affect consumers' perceived scarcity, willingness to pay, and other responses, and that scarcity appeal has the potential to cause consumers to pay higher attention to the product. However, there is a lack of research on the psychological responses of consumers to scarcity appeal from the perspective of perceived green washing. In this paper, three experiments are conducted to demonstrate the impact of product scarcity appeals on consumers' purchase intentions. The research shows that when green products use product scarcity appeals as a strategy, consumers' purchase intentions are affected, but consumers' information processing about the product is the most important determinant. Perceived green washing mediates the negative effect of product scarcity appeals on green product purchase intentions. And impression management motives moderate the negative effect of product scarcity appeals on green product purchase intentions. The findings of the study not only help companies to effectively adopt the right advertising strategies to improve their marketing effectiveness, but also help them to explore the market for green products.

Anticipated scarcity and stockpiling during the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of perceived threat, childhood SES and materialism.

Previous research has shown that perceived existential threat experienced during or shortly after the first wave of the global COVID-19 pandemic, engendered anticipated scarcity and stockpiling behavior. However, the relationship between anticipated scarcity and stockpiling may not hold unambiguously for everyone. Across two studies and one preregistered replication (N = 644), we show that perceived threat of COVID-19 is associated with stockpiling tendencies by increasing the anticipation of product scarcity-a resource threat. The association between anticipated product scarcity and stockpiling depends, however, on childhood socio-economic status (SES) and materialism. For individuals with low childhood SES, the anticipation of product scarcity was only associated with stockpiling among those who valued materialism. Individuals with high childhood SES, by contrast, stockpiled in response to anticipated scarcity regardless of their level of materialism. Our findings qualify previous literature on the association between perceived threat of COVID-19, anticipated scarcity and stockpiling during the COVID-19 pandemic and help reconcile contradictory predictions about the role of childhood SES in individuals' consumption behavior in response to adversity.

The Impact of Scarcity Marketing Models on Consumer Behavior in the Luxury Industry - The Case of Hermes

With the continuous development of China's economic level, major luxury brands have entered the Chinese market one after another. People's rising living standards and more disposable income provide a strong impetus for the development of the luxury goods industry. At the same time, the luxury industry is also facing the challenges of market expansion and balancing product scarcity. The study analyzes the impact of scarcity marketing on consumers and puts forward feasible suggestions through the combination of scarcity marketing theory and Maslow's demand theory. On the base of a comprehensive analysis of the existing literature, the study summarizes and analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of scarcity marketing in the luxury goods industry. This study demonstrates the successful application of scarcity marketing by combining the case of Hermes. Hermès created the scarcity and uniqueness of products through limited sales, high pricing, and distribution system, which stimulated consumers' desire to buy and product sales. However, this also brings some negative effects including queuing, hype, limiting market size, intensifying market competition, and damaging brand reputation. Therefore, this study puts forward a number of feasible suggestions including formulating diversified pricing strategies, providing differentiated products and services, and strengthening brand social responsibility.

On the strategic use of product scarcity in marketing

On the strategic use of product scarcity in marketing

Disposal-based scarcity: How overstock reduction methods influence consumer brand perceptions and evaluations

Overstock reduction methods offer important marketing signals that may affect consumer brand perceptions. In particular, some overstock reduction methods create disposal-based scarcity, that is, product scarcity resulting from reductions of unsold stock. Three experimental studies reveal distinct effects of incineration, which completely destroys the product, compared with methods that are less destructive, such as recycling, donating, or discounting through factory outlets. Achieving disposal scarcity through destruction ultimately damages consumer brand evaluations. In contrast, recycling, donating, and discounting methods, along with indicating a lack of brand overstock, can enhance brand evaluations. Communicating sold-out stock does not translate into such beneficial effects. These varied effects of different overstock reduction methods are mediated by perceptions of exclusivity, popularity, and wastefulness. Furthermore, the mediating effect of perceived wastefulness in the link between overstock reduction methods and brand evaluations is moderated by self–brand connection but not by perceived brand luxuriousness. This article thus integrates literature on scarcity, branding, wastefulness, and disposal behavior to identify a distinct type of scarcity and the conditions in which it has more positive or negative effects on brand perceptions and evaluations.

Qualitative analysis of customer behavior in the retail industry during the COVID-19 pandemic: A word-cloud and sentiment analysis approach

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a paradigm shift in customer behavior within the retail industry. Pandemic-induced restrictions and fear of product scarcity led to a change in purchasing frequency, with customers stockpiling non-perishable products such as basic foods and hygiene items. Media and social networks also played a significant role in fueling panic-buying behavior. Although sales decreased, consumption in all food categories increased due to the closure of restaurants and the need to prepare meals at home. The pandemic had a significant impact on both customers and retailers, resulting in staff reductions and a change in business strategies.To explore how Romanian food retailers’ representatives responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and adjusted to changing consumer behavior, the authors employed a qualitative research approach based on an interview guide. The data collected were analyzed using the statistical software R. In data analysis with R, the choice of functions used depends on various factors, such as the type of data, research questions, and analysis methods. Generally, commonly used functions in R for data analysis include data cleaning and manipulation functions such as subset, merge, and transform, data visualization functions such as ggplot2, and statistical modeling functions such as lm and glm, resulting in world clouds and a sentiment analysis.The results show that to develop effective business strategies, qualitative analysis helps identify the root causes of these changes. Sentiment analysis can reveal how retail chains representatives perceived the safety measures implemented in stores, such as social distancing and mask-wearing mandates, and how these measures affected customers’ shopping behavior. It also sheds light on how customers shopped and whether they planned to continue using these methods post-pandemic. Understanding these insights is crucial for retail companies to adapt their operations and better serve their customers in the post-pandemic world.

Impact of video product presentation and scarcity claim on mobile-based impulse buying

ABSTRACT The introduction of mobile shopping apps has resulted in the growth of impulse buying or excessive compulsion, especially in the fashion industry. This paper aims to establish a relationship between app stimuli (including performance expectancy, effort expectancy, atmosphere, layout, and privacy and security) and impulse buying behaviour. Besides this, it also examines the moderating effects of the video product presentation and product scarcity claim and the mediating effects of impulse buying intention and user satisfaction. The study was carried out in two phases. In the first phase, a paired t-test analysis was carried out to compare the mean of each set. This was followed by multi-group structural equation modelling to check the model’s validity. The results show that while video product presentation produced a significant difference between impulse buying intention and impulse buying behaviour for both the male and female respondents, scarcity claims achieved positive results only for male participants. The SEM results, meanwhile, demonstrated that both the mediating variables bear a relationship to performance expectancy, privacy and security, and impulse buying behaviour. However, effort expectancy was only related to impulse buying intention, while atmosphere and layout were exclusively associated with user satisfaction. Based on the findings of the study, theoretical and managerial implications are presented.

The role of scarcity-inducing post-stockout disclosures on consumer response to stockouts

PurposeApplying a middle-range theorizing to premises of signaling theory and the scarcity principle, this study aims to investigate the mechanisms and effects of different patterns of post-stockout disclosures that highlight the limited supply and high quality of a durable good on consumer satisfaction with the shopping experience and purchase intention, mediated by consumer perceived product scarcity.Design/methodology/approachThe hypotheses are tested with two scenario-based experiments. The first experiment—a between-subjects design—explores the effect of post-stockout disclosures on consumers' perceived scarcity, satisfaction, and purchase intention. The second experiment – a within-subject design – examines the impact of time on consumer responses to stockouts.FindingsResults indicate that perceived product scarcity mediates the relationship between post-stockout disclosures and consumer outcomes. Specifically, post-stockout disclosures present an indirect positive effect on consumer purchase intention, despite reducing satisfaction beyond the effects of the stockout. These results are consistent when disclosures are sent through multiple channels. Results also show that consumers' perceived scarcity and purchase intention decrease over time while dissatisfaction levels remain the same when stockouts persist.Practical implicationsEven though consumers will be dissatisfied upon experiencing a stockout, specific patterns of post-stockout disclosures can be a valuable strategy for consumer retention and lost sales prevention.Originality/valueWhile recent consumer-centric supply chain management literature has investigated mitigation strategies of detrimental consumer response to stockouts, such as “save-the-sale” tactics and price discounts, the mechanisms and effects of different patterns of post-stockouts disclosures highlighting the limited supply and high quality of the product are yet to be investigated.

“We are out of toilet paper”: Testing the mediating effect of product scarcity on consumers’ competitive arousal in family firms

Drawing on Lemon and Verhoef’s customer journey, this study examines the context of local family businesses to investigate product scarcity’s role as a mediator between information overload and competitive arousal in affecting consumers’ behavioural intentions during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected regarding purchases in three famous local family businesses operating in the Food and Beverage sector in the North of Italy. Results reveal that during a sanitary emergency, the consumer in family firms are less inclined to react impulsively than those in large distribution, except when they perceive product scarcity, which increases their level of competitiveness towards the market and other consumers.This behaviour towards other businesses is due to the family business efficacy, which pushes family firms in reinventing themselves and takes care of their trusted consumers. The paper ends by highlighting the main theoretical and managerial contributions, delineating new paths of analysis.

What drives or inhibits consumers' preference to consume quietly?

PurposeSecret consumption refers to consumption of a product in a private situation, with the intent or behavior of hiding the consumption from others. This study contributes to the secret consumption literature by identifying the antecedents of secret consumption along with the explaining mechanism and boundary condition.Design/methodology/approachAn online study with experiment design was conducted to examine the impact of extroversion/introversion, self-presentation and product scarcity on secrete consumption.FindingsThe results show that consumer extraverted disposition and the self-presentation motive negatively influence secret consumption intention and suggest this relationship is explained by the self-presentation need. The findings also revealed that perceived product scarcity attenuated the negative impact of extraversion and self-presentation on secret consumption intention.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings provide interesting insights into advertising and retailing. In recognizing that secret consumption is a prevalent phenomenon in consumer behavior that may improve actual consumer product evaluation and preference, retailers or brand managers may encourage consumers to consume secretly.Originality/valueThis empirical study is a first attempt to explore the antecedents, mediating mechanism and boundary condition of consumer intention to engage in secrete consumption. The findings of the study provide important implication to theoretical development and managerial applications in advertising and retailing.

A meta‐analysis on the effects of product scarcity

AbstractProduct scarcity can influence purchase decisions, but this relationship is multifaceted due to the influence of various cues. This study aims to integrate knowledge of this subject through a meta‐analysis. The findings suggest that the likelihood of purchasing a scarce product is greater under (i) scarcity conditions of excessive demand (rather than restricted supply) and variety (rather than a category), but not urgency (limited quantity and limited time) scarcity, and (ii) product conditions of enduring luxuries (as opposed to transitory luxuries) and the presence (rather than absence) of social signaling and seasonality. From a theoretical standpoint, this study offers a typology of product and scarcity cues and employs a meta‐analysis to enhance our understanding of the relationships between product scarcity, product and scarcity cues, and purchase decisions, resulting in the establishment of a heterogeneous theory of product scarcity. From a managerial standpoint, the study suggests that product scarcity can affect purchase decisions and can be ethically utilized as a marketing strategy.

The role of product scarcity on display incompleteness

PurposeThe current research empirically aims to explore how displaying incompleteness influences the processing of product information and the number of products placed in the basket. This paper proposes a model of the effects of display incompleteness to analyze the influence of the processing of product information and product scarcity.Design/methodology/approachFour studies were conducted to test a model of the effects generated by the display incompleteness.FindingsThe results suggest that incomplete display increases the processing of product information and the number of products chosen. In addition, it supports that processing product information interacts with incomplete display to predict the number of display products placed in the basket. In this context, perceived scarcity cannot increase the effects of incomplete display on processing product information at low levels of perception. On the other hand, consumers will tend to process more information from incomplete displays when perceived scarcity gradually increases.Research limitations/implicationsThe empirical findings have some limitations. First, the authors’ experiments do not define whether scarcity was caused due to excessive demand or restricted supply. Second, the studies do not analyze the perceived exclusivity of the product in short supply. Finally, the studies did not indicate the differences between display incompleteness that showed variety and category scarcity.Practical implicationsThe findings demonstrate that one of the ways to get customers' attention would be to have an efficient strategy for displaying incompleteness. Many managers believe the lack of products on display is an inventory management problem. However, the studies show that this can help increase product sales.Originality/valueThis research contributes to developing better metrics to understand the processing of product information in display incompleteness. Overall, the studies have demonstrated the value of measuring visual attention as an expression of processing product information to understand better how people visually process display incompleteness and its effects on consumption responses.