Product
How it works
Features
Use Cases
Pricing
Partners
Agencies
Affiliates
Become a Partner
Resources
Blog
Case Studies
Guides
Directory of Referral Programs
The Ultimate Referral Playbook
Help Articles
Contact Us

Latest from blog

Top Affiliate Platforms for DTC Brands in 2025

Read more

Referral Program Benchmarks: What’s a Good Conversion Rate in 2025?

Read more

How to Start an Affiliate Program on Shopify (Step‑by‑Step Guide for 2025)

Read more
ReferralCandy logo
Product
Referral Marketing
Have your customers sell for you
Affiliate marketing
Work with partners to grow your brand
Features
A customer acquisition platform that delivers results
Integrations
Works seamlessly with your marketing and ecommerce stack
Built for Your Brand
Health & wellness brands
Food & beverage brands
Apparel & fashion brands
Pet brands
Beauty brands
Baby & kids brands
Sports & fitness brands
Gadgets & electronics brands
Resources
Blog
Use Cases
Help articles
Contact us
Pricing
Log in
Log in
Sign up
← Back to blog

19 Examples of the Scarcity Principle Used in Marketing

Cialdini
Marketing Strategy
November 4, 2022
Samuel Hum
19 Examples of the Scarcity Principle Used in Marketing

In this article

Example H2
Example H3

In this article

Example H2
Example H3

In this post, we’ll be finishing up our Dr. Cialdini’s 'Principles of Persuasion' series with the Scarcity principle.

Scarcity. FOMO. Exclusivity.

We know it by many names, but it's all fundamentally about the same thing: if it's hard to get, it must be worth something.

The Scarcity Principle: People attach more value to things that are few in quantity.

This principle can be commonly used in two broad methods:

  1. Limited-number - Item is in short supply and won’t be available once it runs out.
  2. Deadline (Limited-time) - Item is only available during that time period.

These tactics are used frequently in offline and online stores, as they are low-risk and easy to manage. Comparatively, maintaining a social media account for social proof, or giving away something for free to elicit the reciprocity effect would require more effort.

Here are some examples of the Scarcity principle used in marketing:

A. Limited - Number Tactics

“Only X left!”

1. Booking.com - Limited rooms left

Booking.com Limited Rooms Scarcity ReferralCandy

In his book, Dr. Cialdini mentions an experiment by Stephen Worchel, where participants were asked to rate the quality of cookies in a jar. Some were given a jar with ten cookies, while others only two cookies. Some of them who had two cookies were initially given ten cookies, which were then reduced to two cookies.

The results indicated participants who had the number of cookies reduced from ten to two rated their cookies the highest.

This showed that:

We value more those things that have recently become less available to us.

Most people have experienced a situation where a hotel that they’re considering suddenly becomes fully booked just because they waited for a couple of days.

A popular tactic used by travel sites, Booking.com displays how many rooms there are left for some hotels, so customers will have to hurry.

To play up the scarcity game, they also indicate how many people are currently viewing the same hotel, so customers will have to act even faster.

"Invite Only!"

2. SocialCam – Released app to a small group of people, and gained one million users in four months.

SocialCam logo ReferralCandy

When Justin Kan released SocialCam in March 2011, he focused on opening it to a selected group of people, who could then invite others.

We started with a core nucleus of users that we thought would spread it to everyone.”

Thanks to this strategy, they acquired more than a million users in four months. They surpassed 16 million downloads by July 2012 and was acquired by Autodesk for $60 million.

3. Spotify – Used invite-only to manage the influx of new free users and encourage paid subscriptions.

spotify marketing

Spotify was hugely popular in Europe, and its release in the US was highly-publicized.

But instead of opening the floodgates to let the public in, they chose to open their free service through invite-only.

Users could either wait for an invite or pay $4.99 or $9.99 for Unlimited or Premium respectively.

It worked because their arrival was highly-anticipated, and they were better than their competitors. People had to wait in order to be the first the try out the best music streaming service around.

For those who didn't want to wait, they could always opt for a paid subscription.

Read next: How Spotify Built A $5B Business With >75M Music Lovers Through Word-Of-Mouth

4. Mailbox – Created an in-app waiting line system to encourage others to join and find out what the hype is about.

Mailbox app Exclusivity ReferralCandy

Mailbox used a slightly different approach, by combining exclusivity with social proof.

Users who wanted to try out the service had to sign up for a reservation, where they'd be shown the number of people who signed up before them, and those after:

Mailbox waiting line techcrunch

This gave users an idea of where they are in this virtual waiting line, which some users would check back regularly to see the counter move.

The Mailbox team explained that the waiting line was established to keep the number of users under control so that their servers wouldn't crash.

Judging from how insanely long the waiting line became, I'd say that was a good move.

Like Spotify, customers were willing to put up with the wait because existing email solutions weren't exactly fantastic.

5. OnePlus – Sold close to one million phones purely via invites, without selling through retail stores.

OnePlus invites here Exclusivity

The OnePlus One is the first smartphone sold by OnePlus and became known as the phone that wasn't sold in stores.

When OnePlus released the OnePlus One in 2014, it could only be bought through an invite, which wasn't something consumers were used to.

We're used to go to a store, trying the phone out for ourselves before actually buying it. So being denied that opportunity made it all the more special.

Everyone wanted to know more about the enigmatic phone.

This led to more than 25 million visits to OnePlus' website in less than a year after the smartphone's launch, and close to a million sales.

Read next: How OnePlus Got Word-of-Mouth With A $300 Marketing Budget

6. Quibb – A link-sharing site with an acceptance rate of less than 50% and a background check.

Quibb logo Exclusivity ReferralCandy

Up till now, most of the companies featured here utilize the exclusivity effect to generate hype and/or control the number of users.

Quibb uses it because it wants only the best of the best to join their community.

As a link-sharing site for professionals, Quibb doesn't want users who post links of sub-par quality.

Therefore, people apply for membership and wait with bated breath for notification of their acceptance. They do so, knowing that less than 50% of applicants are actually accepted.

Quibb members only Exclusivity ReferralCandy

The best part? The founder, Sandi MacPherson is the one who does the vetting.

Users who get accepted find themselves amongst a super high-quality crowd, filled with industry experts, CEOs, and influential professionals.

By choosing to reject more than half of all applicants, Quibb has succeeded in creating a community that is truly exclusive, and also extremely high-quality.

So it's unsurprising that Quibb has mentioned plans to keep the website members-only forever.

7. The 11K Club – The club that thousands knew nothing about, but signed up because it's exclusive.

11K Club

The 11K Club is a mysterious club with only 11,000 slots, and one exceptional benefit.

But apart form that, no one knows what the club is for, or what that benefit is. The only way to know is to join it.

With no information to consider, the 11K Club was a social experiment on how alluring exclusivity can be.

Co-founder Steve Whyley had this to say:

I'm trying to see if people will sign up to a club that they know nothing about purely because it's exclusive and because they fear they'll miss out.

And indeed they did, for the 11K Club received way more than 11,000 applications.

It is perhaps the best proof that exclusivity and curiosity go hand in hand, and to great effect.

People can't handle the fact that they could miss out on something. They want to be part of the 'club,' the exclusive few.

Out of stock

8. Ministry of Supply - Out-of-stock size indication

Ministry of Supply out of stock size indication Scarcity ReferralCandy

When selecting designs, sizes, and cut of the apparel you want, MoS indicates which sizes are currently out of stock.

This plays nicely with the principle of social proof (a lot of people have bought this particular design, so it must be the best).

Of course, you’re encouraged to give your email address so you can be informed when they restock.

Read next: How a Small Menswear Brand Utilized Word-of-Mouth to Get Over $420,000 On Kickstarter

B. Limited-Time Tactics

Daily Deals

9. TigerDirect.com - Daily Slasher Deals

TigerDirect.com Scarcity ReferralCandy

TigerDirect.com uses this tactic perfectly: not only do they have deals every day, they even have a huge countdown timer that indicates how much more time customers have to grab them.

10. Amazon - Today's Deals

Amazon Deal of the Day

Amazon also has daily deals, which cover a wide variety of items, from kitchenware to ebooks.

Looking at the various tabs, they also have specific deals for certain holiday seasons, like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Read next: Lessons from Amazon Prime's Referral Program

Holiday Specials

11. Modcloth - Holiday Sweaters

ModCloth holiday Sweaters Scarcity ReferralCandy

Some retailers, such as ModCloth, create special designs just for certain holiday seasons. These designs are only for sale during the festive seasons, so they count as limited-time offers as well.

Read next: How ModCloth evolved from a 1-woman firm to a $100m company

12. Starbucks - Christmas Holiday Frappuccino Drinks

Starbucks Christmas Frappuccino Holiday Drinks Scarcity ReferralCandy

This applies to F&B too.

I love it when Christmas is here because then I’ll be able to get my hands on the peppermint-flavored ice-blended drinks from Starbucks and Coffee Bean. It happens only once a year, so I make it a point to enjoy it whenever I pass by an outlet.

I probably wouldn’t care that much if it were sold all year round.

According to Bonnie Riggs, a restaurant industry analyst with NPD Group in Chicago, this tactic works well because:

They expect to pay a premium because the specialty drinks, the iced frozen slushy drinks, are not something they can replicate at home or easily get at retail.

It’s the seasonal exclusivity that makes such festive drinks special.

Read next: Branding and Stereotypes: Using Starbucks To Catch White Girls

Clearance Sales

13. Kohl’s - Clearance sales

Kohl's Clearance Sale Scarcity ReferralCandy

Another good way to utilize the scarcity principle is to have clearance sales.

Customers know that they have to act fast, as these items usually belong to previous seasons, or are no longer in production. Stock and sizes are therefore quite limited.

C. One-of-a-kind Specials

The following examples sometimes utilize the limited-number, limited-time or both of these techniques.

They are also from one-off events (e.g. collaborations, anniversaries), so products from such events are usually quite limited in stock.

Collaborations

14. HAiK W/ Kaibosh - Two-way Reversible Sunglasses

This collaboration between two Norwegian brands, HAiK and Kaibosh, resulted in special sunglasses that can be worn both ways to show off different frames.

The good thing about collaborations is that, not only can you tap on the knowledge, expertise, and resources from both sides, the resulting spark is something that will forever be special and one-of-a-kind.

Nobody knows whether they’ll collaborate again in the future, so fans will have to buy them before they’re all sold out.

Anniversary Celebrations

15. Evo - Anniversary Sale

Evo 13-yr Anniversary Scarcity ReferralCandy

Anniversaries are a good way to celebrate the history of your brand, and also a good opportunity to thank your customers.

Sure, you could have hold anniversary sales every year, but even yearly sales can be effective in drawing customers in so they won't miss out.

If your brand has been around for a while, like Evo, then your anniversary promotions can utilize both the principles of scarcity and social proof.

(Speaking of anniversaries, this year also marks the 75th birthday of a certain superhero...)

One-off Special Events

16. The New Yorker - Opens archives for free for 3 months

The New Yorker Free Archives Scarcity ReferralCandy

While revamping its website, The New Yorker released all of its archives since 2007 for public reading for three months. During that time, they would collect user data to determine how they would charge for their metered paywall after the three month window.

Although slightly different from the other examples listed here, the scarcity principle still applies. Readers who are non-subscribers would jump at the chance to dig into the massive pool of articles that they can now read for free.

While we’re not sure how their sales would be after the new metered paywall goes live, they are definitely generating a lot of attention and interest. Not to mention the free gathering of user behavior data for their future analyses.

Pre-orders

Products that are launched through crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter or Indiegogo are almost always at pre-order stages, so projects are able to offer exclusive incentives to attract funding.

17. Memobottle - Green caps for Kickstarter backers

Memobottle Limited Edition Kickstarter Scarcity ReferralCandy

Many projects offer exclusive features that are only available during the crowdfunding window. These might include:

  • products in special colors
  • products made from special materials
  • pre-retail price discounts
  • giving away extra freebies

This gives backers extra motivation to back it now, knowing that this is the only time they’ll be able to enjoy this deal.

The folks from Memobottle offered an exclusive green-colored lid for project backers, as a way to thank them for hitting the $250,000 stretch goal.

Read next: How 11 Innovative Companies Use Referrals to Drive Pre-orders

18. Hush Smart Earplugs - Kickstarter Discount

Hush Smart earplugs Scarcity ReferralCandy

The Hush smart earplugs were available on Kickstarter at a much-cheaper pre-retail price.

Limited quantities per tier and limited time for the project meant that backers had to act fast to cash in on this special deal.

Read Next: How 13 Of The Best Kickstarter Projects Achieved Success With Word-Of-Mouth

D. Utilising competitions

Another interesting finding from the Stephen Worchel cookie experiment revealed that cookie ratings were highest when experimenters told participants that the cookies had to be reduced due to social demand (as compared to it being a mistake).

Our inclination to want things more because other people also want them is often utilized in auctions or bids.

19. eBay Auctions

eBay Auctioning Scarcity ReferralCandy

In auctions such as those on eBay, customers are not only motivated by the desire to own something exclusive, but to beat other people, as well as do so within the bidding window.

The indication of the number of bids overlaps with social proof, and increases the perceived importance and value of said product.

eBay Live Auctions Scarcity ReferralCandy

 

eBay also has live auctions, where each item lasts for ONLY two minutes. Talk about limited time only!

Conclusion: We are always drawn to things that are exclusive and hard to come by.

Scarcity works so effectively because we've evolved to assume that things that are difficult to obtain are usually better than those that are easily available. We link availability to quality.

To recap: scarcity can be presented in mainly two ways: limited-number and limited-time. One-of-a-kind events and festivals can be used to elicit the effect as well.

In addition, we tend to attach more value to things that other people are competing for, a phenomenon that is part of social proof.

With this, we officially conclude our Principles of Persuasion series! Here are the rest of the principles, with examples:

  1. Reciprocity
  2. Commitment (and Consistency)
  3. Social Proof
  4. Liking
  5. Authority
  6. Scarcity [you are here]

Stay tuned as we will cover the elements in Chip and Dan Heath’s Made to Stick, showing you how some brands make their brands and stories memorable!

Here are a couple more resources that we think might be helpful for you:

  • Black Friday Email Marketing: Your 4-Step Holiday Sales Guide
  • ‍16 Top Ecommerce Communities to Join to Grow Your Business
  • 15 YouTube Channels for Building and Growing Your Ecommerce Brand
  • How To Setup A Referral Program For Your Shopify Store
  • 10+ Top Ecommerce Referral Programs to Learn From
Share this article on
Samuel Hum

As a finalist in Esquire's Best Dressed Real Man contest, Samuel is ReferralCandy's fashion eCommerce expert and resident sartorialist. He is obsessed with human behavior, social psychology, and handstands. He is also the lead calisthenics trainer at Weightless.

Share this article on
  • View all posts
Product
How it works
Features
Use Cases
Pricing
Partners
Agencies
Affiliates
Become a Partner
Resources
Blog
Case Studies
Guides
Directory of Referral Programs
The Ultimate Referral Playbook
Help Articles
Contact Us

Latest from blog

Top Affiliate Platforms for DTC Brands in 2025

Read more

Referral Program Benchmarks: What’s a Good Conversion Rate in 2025?

Read more

How to Start an Affiliate Program on Shopify (Step‑by‑Step Guide for 2025)

Read more
You may also like

Top Affiliate Platforms for DTC Brands in 2025

Referral Program Benchmarks: What’s a Good Conversion Rate in 2025?

How to Start an Affiliate Program on Shopify (Step‑by‑Step Guide for 2025)

© 2022 All rights reserved.
ReferralCandy is a product of Anafore Pte. Ltd
(Reg. no: 200903073C).

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Bytes of Candy

ReferralCandy

  • How It Works
  • Pricing
  • Blog
  • Setup Guide
  • Case Study

Partners

  • ReferralCandy for Agencies
  • Partner with Us
  • Affiliates

Resources

  • Ultimate Referral Playbook
  • Directory of Referral Programs
  • Best Practices and Guides
  • Support Center
  • API

Company

  • About Us
  • Jobs
  • Contact Us

Most Popular Posts

  • How to Build a Referral Program That Works in 2022 (With 80+ Examples)
  • How to Choose Referral Program Incentives (With Examples)
  • 22 Successful Shopify Referral Program Examples
  • The Ultimate Referral Widget Guide to Improve Referrals
  • 45 Best Shopify Apps That Increase Sales
  • Here’s What Great Referral Email Campaigns Look Like
  • 20 Examples of Beautiful Referral Email Design
  • 10 Small Business Referral Program Examples
  • How to Set Up a Referral Program for Your Ecommerce Store in 6 Steps