How to Profit from Scarcity

HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL—Marketers are trained to match supply to demand. Everything that consumers need should be available at the right time in the right place at the right price. Coca-Cola’s mantra always has been to be within an arm’s reach of desire. To be out of stock is to lose a sale or, worse, to lose a sale to a competitor.

But marketers also understand that, by using the illusion of scarcity, they can accelerate demand. This false scarcity encourages us to buy sooner and perhaps to buy more than normal. Read article.