Scarcity Messages Research Articles

Online advertisements with scarcity messages and the association with attitudes for functional and symbolic aspects of vitamins and supplements

Purpose Scarcity appeals in advertising can increase consumer purchase intentions. This study aims to examine the impact of different online scarcity message appeals and the association with consumer attitudes for functional and symbolic aspects of vitamins and supplements. Design/methodology/approach This survey of 789 participants evaluated the scarcity appeals of high-demand message, limited-time message, low-stock message and countdown timer and the association with consumer attitudes for functional and symbolic aspects of vitamins and supplements. Findings The results showed that high-demand messages as compared to regular advertising messages was significantly associated with increased functional and symbolic scale scores. African Americans, Hispanics and Asian/Asian Americans were each significantly associated with increased functional and symbolic scale scores as compared whites. Advertising deception of veracity was significantly negatively associated with symbolic scale score but not associated with functional scale score. Advertising deception of ethical was significantly positively associated with symbolic scale score but not associated with functional scale score. Practical implications In conclusion, high-demand messages may be a particularly useful type of scarcity appeal to use in online advertising for vitamins and supplements. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of online advertising message scarcity types and how they are associated with consumers attitudes for functional and symbolic aspects of vitamins and supplements.

The persuasive effects of scarcity messages on impulsive buying in live-streaming e-commerce: the moderating role of time scarcity

The persuasive effects of scarcity messages on impulsive buying in live-streaming e-commerce: the moderating role of time scarcity

Credit card reward donation with scarcity messages

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of reward redemption programs on donation amount, donation percentage and donation intention in the context of a bank credit card.Design/methodology/approachA 2 × 2 × 3 experiment is implemented with 1,070 consumers accessing a national US-based sample with a small compensation. The authors use general linear model to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe findings show the main effects of reward types, limited-time message and value of reward redemptions on the percentage of donations and overall donation intention to charity. The type of reward (cash/points) is found to interact with the limited-time message and with the value of reward redemptions.Originality/valueNo prior studies have addressed the relationship between credit card redemption rewards and scarcity messages in the donation context. The study contributes to the understanding of the effectiveness of credit card redemption rewards with scarcity message in improving a consumer’s donation intention.

STIMULUS RESPONSE THEORY: THE CONSTRUCTION OF IMPULSE BUYING ON SHOPEE LIVE SELLING

Scarcity messages have never been researched globally, while price discounts and free shipping taglines have different results from previous research or journals. This research aims to determine the effect of scarcity messages, price discounts, and free shipping taglines on impulse buying on Shopee live selling. The research method used in this research is quantitative with multiple linear regression as the data analysis method. The population of this research is all management study program students from the class of 2020 with the sample determination method being purposive sampling. The number of samples used was 155 students which was determined using the Slovin formula. The results of this research show that scarcity messages have a significant positive influence on impulse buying on Shopee live selling. Price discounts have an insignificant positive effect on impulse buying on Shopee live selling. And the free shipping tagline has an insignificant negative effect on impulse buying on Shopee live selling. Simultaneously, scarcity messages, price discounts and free shipping taglines have a significant influence on impulse buying on Shopee live selling.

The effect of perceived scarcity on impulse-buying tendencies in a fast fashion context: A mediating and multigroup analysis

PurposeThis study investigates the relationships between perceived scarcity, fear of missing out (FOMO) and impulse-buying tendencies (IBT) in the fast fashion context in both scarcity and non-scarcity conditions. Additionally, this study examines whether these relationships vary depending on the type of scarcity messages: limited-quantity scarcity (LQS) and limited-time scarcity (LTS).Design/methodology/approachWe used written scenarios, and each participant was assigned to one of the experimental or control groups for LQS and LTS conditions. Using a structural modeling approach, we tested the conceptual model and analyzed the data through SmartPLS version 4. We conducted mediating and multigroup (MGA) analysis.FindingsWe found that perceived scarcity directly increases IBT and that FOMO partially mediates this relationship across all samples. The MGA findings also revealed that hypothesized relationships were not significantly different across LQS and LTS groups, suggesting that the effect of scarcity messages may be context specific.Originality/valuePrevious studies have yielded mixed results on the effects of different scarcity messages on consumer behavior. This study contributes to the literature by providing evidence of the direct relationship between perceived scarcity, FOMO and impulse buying in the fast fashion context. The study supports the idea that the effect of different types of scarcity messages is context specific, suggesting that the relationship between scarcity perceptions and consumer behavior may vary depending on the product category and cultural context.

The Effects of Scarcity Messages and Impulsivity on Customers’ Rational Purchase Decision-Making Process in Group-buying Social Commerce

The Effects of Scarcity Messages and Impulsivity on Customers’ Rational Purchase Decision-Making Process in Group-buying Social Commerce

Investigating the Impact of Serendipitous Information and Scarcity Messages on the Online Impulse Buying Behaviour of Consumers in the Apparel Industry of Sri Lanka: The Mediating Role of the Urge to Buy Impulsively

Investigating the Impact of Serendipitous Information and Scarcity Messages on the Online Impulse Buying Behaviour of Consumers in the Apparel Industry of Sri Lanka: The Mediating Role of the Urge to Buy Impulsively

Need for uniqueness moderates the effectiveness of different types of scarcity appeals.

Marketers frequently implement scarcity messages in promoting their products. Scarcity due to demand and scarcity due to supply have both been found to influence consumers' product evaluations positively. However, the differential effects of these two types of scarcity messages have been understudied. Study 1 manipulated scarcity appeals type and need for uniqueness orthogonally and examined their effects on purchase intention. Study 2 manipulated scarcity appeals type and tested its effect on perceived uniqueness. Study 3 manipulated scarcity appeals type and tested the moderated mediation model that perceived uniqueness mediated the interactive effects of scarcity type and need for uniqueness on purchase intention. Across three studies, we find that consumers perceive supply-based scarcity products as more unique than demand-based scarcity products. Consequently, in comparison with demand-based scarcity messages, supply-based scarcity messages increase purchase intention for consumers with high need for uniqueness. In contrast, these messages decrease purchase intention for consumers with low need for uniqueness. Our findings contribute to the research on scarcity appeals, uniqueness perception, and need for uniqueness. Our research also suggests that marketers need to implement different types of scarcity appeals to convey uniqueness information and to attract different consumers.

ONLINE ALIŞVERİŞTE KITLIK PAZARLAMASI İLE DÜRTÜSEL SATIN ALMA ARASINDAKİ İLİŞKİ VE ALIŞVERİŞTEN KEYİF ALMANIN ARACILIK ROLÜ

Yaşanan pandemi süreci boyunca alışveriş merkezlerini ziyaret edemeyen tüketicilerin, online alışveriş sitelerine rağbet göstermeleri markalar arasındaki rekabetin online mecralara taşınmasına neden olmuştur. Bu rekabet ortamında öne çıkmak isteyen pazarlama yöneticileri, son bir ürün ya da yalnızca bugüne özel indirim gibi mesajlarla tüketicilere çok düşünme fırsatı vermeden bir an önce satın alma faaliyetine geçmelerini zorlamak amacıyla sıklıkla kıtlık pazarlaması yöntemini kullanmaktadırlar. Bu çalışmanın amacı, yakın gelecekte tüketicilerin önemli bir kısmını teşkil edecek olan Z kuşağına uygulanan kıtlık pazarlaması taktiklerinin gerçekten başarıya ulaşıp ulaşmadığını ortaya çıkarmak için kıtlık mesajları ile dürtüsel satın alma ve alışverişten keyif alma değişkenlerinin ilişkisini incelemektir. 405 katılımcıdan sağlanan veriler, SPSS 25 programında analiz edilmiş, test sonuçları katılımcıların %94,8’ini temsil eden Z kuşağının %66,9’unu oluşturan kadın katılımcıların erkek katılımcılara göre kıtlık mesajlarından daha fazla etkilendiklerini ve alışverişten daha fazla keyif aldıklarını ortaya çıkarmıştır. Korelasyon analizi sonuçları ise kıtlık pazarlaması, alışverişten keyif alma ve dürtüsel satın alma değişkenleri arasında pozitif yönde anlamlı bir ilişki olduğunu göstermektedir. Çalışmanın bulguları, pazarlama yöneticilerinin online alışveriş sitelerinde kullandıkları kıtlık mesajlarını erkeklere yönelik ürünlere nazaran kadınlara yönelik ürünlerde uygulamaları halinde daha verimli sonuçlar alabileceklerini göstermektedir.

The moderating effect of social media use in impulsive buying of personal protective equipments during the COVID-19 pandemic

The global economy, public health, and markets are now being greatly affected by the spread of COVID-19. Indonesia is one of the countries affected. These effects cause fear, panic, and anxiety for many people. When the lockdown was applied, panic buying becomes common during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is essential to investigate consumer purchasing behavior during COVID-19 to understand the phenomenon better and provide management insights to policymakers and marketers. This research utilized the scarcity model theory and the Stimuli-Organism-Response (SOR) model. We investigated how creating external stimuli such as scarcity affects perceived value among people in panic situations, which in turn affects impulsive buying behavior. Finally, 320 valid data points were collected using online surveys, and SmartPLS was used for data analysis. Our results show that scarcity significantly increases impulse buying. In addition, our results show that social media use moderates the relationship between scarcity messages and impulsive buying, while perceived value mediates the relationship between scarcity and impulsive buying in Indonesia. The study provides more information about consumers’ impulsive buying, considering the scarcity of health supplement products during pandemics. Marketers and the Indonesian government can take action to mitigate their impact and help maintain security during pandemics.

Advertising with scarcity messages and attitudes for luxury skin-care products

PurposeA number of types of scarcity messages are often used in Internet advertisements, but all these types have not been directly compared to each other.Design/methodology/approachCollege students (n = 789) were surveyed about five advertising choices for luxury skin-care products consisting of scarcity messages of high-demand, low-stock, limited-time, countdown timer and regular advertising without any scarcity message. Outcomes were product classification attitudes of functional and symbolic and psychological attitudes of persuasion knowledge and advertising skepticism.FindingsThe study found that high-demand message had greater functional attitudes and greater symbolic attitudes than regular advertising. Limited-time message had greater symbolic attitudes than regular advertising. High-demand message had lower advertising skepticism attitudes than regular advertising.Practical implicationsThe authors recommend that when a luxury skin-care product is in high demand, that marketers should use high-demand messages in their advertising. Marketers of luxury skin-care products may also benefit from using limited-time message advertisements.Originality/valueThis is the first study to directly compare the scarcity message advertising types of high-demand, low-stock, limited-time, countdown timer with regular advertising without any scarcity message.

Is differential treatment in response to service failures effective? The roles of comparison, loyalty, and scarcity messages

Previous studies have shown how a strong relationship between a customer and a firm can exacerbate dissatisfaction after a service failure. However, the effectiveness of providing preferential benefits to loyal customers during a service recovery has been less explored. The purpose of this paper was to examine the impact of differential treatment on post-recovery responses by customers’ loyalty status as well as the moderating role of scarcity cues. By using a between subjects factorial design, the results revealed that less loyal customers’ post-recovery evaluations could be less positive when they were given less compensation than loyal customers. Moreover, scarcity cues were not sufficient to alleviate less loyal customers’ negative feelings in this circumstance. Hospitality practitioners may want to treat customers equally during service failures and use scarcity cues to mitigate loyal customers’ feelings. Future studies may find it fruitful to research individual differences in such effects. • The impact of differential treatment on post-recovery responses was examined. • Customers’ loyalty status and the use of scarcity cues were used as moderators. • Less loyal customers tended to evaluate the service less positively when they were compensated less than loyal customers. • Scarcity cues were not sufficient to alleviate less loyal customers’ negative feelings under differential treatment. • Treating customers equally after service failures and using scarcity cues to loyal customers are recommended.

Limited time or limited quantity? The impact of other consumer existence and perceived competition on the scarcity messaging - Purchase intention relation

Promotional messages, including scarcity messages and other consumer existence messages, are frequently employed by online travel marketers to drive consumer purchase intention. By using a scenario-based experimental design study, the authors investigate the effects of scarcity message types – limited quantity scarcity (LQS) and limited time scarcity (LTS) – on willingness to purchase, and explore the mediating role of perceived consumer competition and the moderating role of social cue messages on scarcity messaging and purchase intention. The findings suggest that presenting social cue messages enhances perceived consumer competition and consequently purchase intention when an LQS message is presented. However, presenting social cue messages have no such impact on perceived consumer competition and purchase intention when an LTS message is presented. This research provides online travel practitioners with guidance on how and when to leverage promotional messages to drive consumer purchase intention.

Selling goods on e-commerce platforms: The impact of scarcity messages

E-commerce platforms prominently advertise low levels of inventory (“only three units left”) for 'long tail' goods in physical or digital formats. Thus, they wish to trigger consumer perceptions of scarcity and ultimately promote sales. In this paper, we develop a model on how in scarcity messages, the inventory level affects the online sales goods. We test the model against evidence from e-commerce sales data of about 35,000 printed books. We find that for e-commerce sales, lower inventory promotes sales late but inhibits purchases in the early stages of the purchase process. We reflect this counterintuitive finding against propositions grounded in different theoretical bodies. Thereupon, we summarize our research contributions and provide some implications for research and practice. We conclude with identified study limitations and suggestions for future research.

Examining scarcity in mobile promotion and purchase intention: the role of location

ABSTRACT This study explores the impact of scarcity messages in mobile coupons on purchase intentions among smartphone users, as well as the moderating effect of location and product type. Psychological reactance theory serves as the overarching theory for this study. Two experiments were conducted. ANOVA and ANCOVA were used to test the hypotheses. The findings show that scarcity tactics in mobile coupons work differently with respect to the location of coupon recipients and are further impacted by the product type. Quantity limit scarcity messages are the most effective way to encourage consumers’ purchase intentions when they are at home, while time limit scarcity messages are a better way to stimulate consumer purchase when they are in a store. By comparison, vague scarcity is an effective way to encourage consumers to purchase high-involvement products when they are at home, while for low-involvement products vague scarcity can be more effective in encouraging consumer purchase while they are in a store.

The Effects of Scarcity Message on Sales Promotions Based on Self-Monitoring Levels in T-Commerce

The purpose of this study was to empirically verify the effects of scarcity messages on sales promotions and purchase intentions of T-Commerce consumers, based on their self-monitoring levels. This experiment used factor design between subjects according to the scarcity type (quantity-limited vs. time-limited) and self-monitoring level (high-monitored vs. high-monitored) of the T-commerce sales promotion message and analysis was performed using the two-way MANOVA analysis. Two-way MANOVA analysis of T-commerce's scarcity message, self-monitoring, two independent variables, dependent promotional attitudes, and purchase intentions. The results of this study are as follows. First, consumers’ attitudes toward sales promotions and purchase intentions in T-Commerce were found to be relatively positive with regard to limited-quantity and limited-time messages, with no major differences observed between the two types of messages. Second, T-Commerce consumers with high levels of self-monitoring formed more positive attitudes toward sales promotions and has higher purchase intentions when limited-quantity messages were used, as compared to when limited-time messages were used. Third, a more positive attitude toward promotions and higher purchase intentions with limited-quantity messages are demonstrated by consumers with high levels of self-monitoring, rather than those with low levels. Consumers use T-Commerce while watching TV in the comfort of their homes. Therefore, a limitation of this study is that it was conducted in artificial settings.

Panic buying in the COVID-19 pandemic: A multi-country examination

The global crisis of COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged the world economy and healthcare, igniting much fear, panic, and uncertainty among billions of people. As lockdowns being implemented in many places, panic buying has emerged as a reliable feature of the Coronavirus outbreak. Therefore, it is of urgent needs to examine consumers' panic buying behaviors during COVID-19 to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon and to provide managerial insights for policy-makers and marketers alike. In this study, under the theoretical guidelines of the Stimuli-Organism-Response model and the Competitive Arousal model, we investigate how in the panic situation created by the pandemic, external stimuli such as Limited Quantity Scarcity (LQS) and Limited Time Scarcity (LTS) affect the emotional arousal among people, which in turn influences consumers’ impulsive and obsessive buying behaviors. This study is conducted in a multi-country setting including the U.S., China, India, and Pakistan. Online surveys were conducted during the peak time of pandemic. Our findings show that LQS and LTS significantly increase perceived arousal in consumers, which further leads to more impulsive and obsessive buying. In addition, our results also reveal that excessive social media use intensifies the relationship between scarcity messages and perceived arousal whereas the urge to buy impulsively moderates the relationship between perceived arousal and behavioral outcomes in all selected countries except for India. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed in details.

Analyzing the Influence of Situational Factors on Online Impulse Buying Behavior: A Study of Pakistani Consumers

This study seeks to find out online impulse buying behaviour in the Pakistan e-commerce industry by investigating the contributing factors of money availability, time availability, family influence, serendipitous information and scarcity messages towards online impulse buying behaviour. It investigated the mediating role of the urge to buy impulsively between the factors and online impulse buying behaviour. From a sample of 472 students of 4 Pakistani universities, the data was gathered. Moreover, to analyze the data and to test hypotheses, PLS-SEM was employed, which showed money availability, time availability, scarcity messages, serendipitous information, family influence were significantly related to online impulse buying behaviour. The findings will be helpful for e-retailers in creating e-marketing strategies, delivering their promises and generating sales through effectively designing their promotional plans.

The drivers of desirability in scarcity marketing

PurposeMarketers make an effort to affect consumers through scarcity marketing thus shaping the perception of scarcity and creating desirability for consumers. To expand the scarcity-expensiveness-desirability model and to enhance insights for practical applications, this study modifies the causal relationship among two types of scarcity, three types of expansiveness and desirability.Design/methodology/approachThis study surveyed 400 Taipei city residents who had purchase experience with luxury brands products in Taiwan. The study employed structural equation modeling as empirical analysis.FindingsThe empirical results show that limited-quantity scarcity main influences perceived social status and then affects desirability. The second path is that limited-quantity scarcity influences perceived uniqueness and then affects desirability. Therefore, perceived social status and perceived uniqueness dominate the majority of effects on desirability because they are the recognition of the individual compared to others, especially when applied to luxury goods.Practical implicationsBecause limited-quantity scarcity has a greater impact on desirability than limited-time scarcity in the empirical results, marketers can adopt limited-quantity scarcity messages that are better than limited-time scarcity, to increase consumers’ desire to purchase luxury goods.Originality/valueThe first novelty of this study is dividing scarcity marketing into limited-quantity and limited-time scarcity in the scarcity-expensiveness-desirability model. This study extends expensiveness in the scarcity-expensiveness-desirability model with a complete demonstration, that is, perceived social status, perceived uniqueness and perceived value, which is the second novelty of this study.

생산적복지기관의 희소성 메시지, 기관신뢰, 사회적 가치가 크라우드펀딩 참여의도에 미치는 영향

생산적복지기관의 희소성 메시지, 기관신뢰, 사회적 가치가 크라우드펀딩 참여의도에 미치는 영향