The Scarcity Heuristic: Why We Want What We Can't Have

Humans desire scarcity. Whether it’s a bar of gold, a Pumpkin Spice Latte only available in the Fall or early access to a social-networking service. If it’s rare, our primal brains want it. And the more scarce we perceive something to be, the more we desire it. So in a noisy world inundated with content that’s available just a click away, marketers just might be able to cut through the clutter by using exclusivity and scarcity as a part of their marketing strategy.