The Scarcity Effect

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The Scarcity Effect

A limited supply of something encourages action.

Featured in 7 UX Bites

Similar psychology:

Hyperbolic Discounting

Fresh Start Effect

Confirmation Bias

Likely impacts:

Conversion Rates

Sharing and Referrals

Purchases

Last updated: 23/09/2026

How to utilise this in your designs

In the checkout, you could try showing that similar options matching the user's criteria have already sold out, so scarcity makes their current choice feel urgent.

Promo code input with blue "Apply" button; red-bordered alert: "Limited supply for your dates: 2 four-star hotels like this unavailable;" special request: "The quietest room possible please!"

Example from

Booking

Once an item sells out, you could try replacing the CTA label with the exact time it sold out, showing real scarcity that may nudge users to act earlier next time.

UI shows food service ratings with icons for friendly staff, food quantity, and value. Text underlined highlights sold out times: 09:12 today, 20:17 yesterday.

Example from

Too Good To Go

You could experiment with a banner that pairs low stock with how many people have the item in their baskets, so scarcity feels more pressing through competition.

Ecommerce UI shows low stock Pokemon card priced £14.95 by ThePokePals. Black text in blue-bordered box: "Don't miss out. There's only 4 available, and 20+ in baskets."

Example from

Etsy

Rather than a stock count, you could tell users when a listing is usually booked, signalling scarcity through demand that may motivate them to book sooner.

Airbnb UI shows a total cost of £606 with an £88 service fee, plus a boxed note: "This is a rare find. Katie's place on Airbnb is usually fully booked," with a red diamond icon.

Example from

Airbnb

You could try unlocking paid features for 5 minutes with a visible timer, using time-based scarcity so users feel what they'd lose once it ends.

Mobile UI shows a paid feature trial offer: "£29.99/yr forever," 5-min countdown, options "Explore paid features for free" (purple) and "Claim the offer now" (blue).

Example from

GoalQuest

Possible impacts

Showing genuinely limited stock or time could increase conversion rates, as the scarcity effect makes users feel they may miss out if they delay deciding.

As seen in:

Booking Limited supply of hotels

Too Good To Go A clever CTA label

The scarcity effect could increase sharing and referrals, if users believe access is limited and feel it's now or never to invite friends or move up a waiting list.

As seen in:

Duolingo Sharing your checkmate

Spotify A well-timed nudge

Highlighting real scarcity may increase purchases as users buy before items sell out, though faux scarcity could damage trust if the same offer keeps reappearing.

As seen in:

Booking Limited supply of hotels

Too Good To Go A clever CTA label

Written by Peter Ramsey

Consultant to 100+ companies

Published: 02/09/2023