The Influence of Online Scarcity Cues on Consumers Purchase Intention

Book excerpt: Online retailers frequently use scarcity statements in their marketing communications. These statements are used to communicate that the availability of products in stock is limited (e.g. “Limited edition”, “Hurry up, only few items left”) or that the offer is valid for a limited amount of time (e.g. “This offer expires in ..”). These tactics are often incorporated in offers with price discounts in order to make products appear even more attractive or to put pressure on the buying decision. Since scarcity appeals are used so frequently in online offers nowadays, it is possible that consumers became sceptical about such marketing tactics. Besides the fact that consumers can become sceptical and therefore may ignore the scarcity tactic, it is also possible that scarcity tactics actually affect consumer inferences in such a manner that it has an impact on their purchase intention. The current research aims to gain a better understanding in the persuasiveness of scarcity statements in an online context, by examining if these statements raise scepticism and competitive arousal.