How Can Web Design Indicate Scarcity and Lend Urgency

Using design techniques to give the impression that certain things are scarce and customers need to take urgent action for gratification is a very important concept in web design, particularly for online businesses where customers may not feel the urge to shop unless provoked by these emotions. This is the reason why e-commerce sites and even physical retail stores keep on announcing flash sales where the number of items may be limited or the time for availing of the offer.

The Perception of Scarcity

Limited time or quantity: It is well proven that people do not want to lose out on anything and this is the tendency that is exploited by online businesses to encourage visitors to shop for something that has limited availability. The fear can be exploited in two ways; one in which the user is being encouraged to take a particular step faster than usual, and the other when the visitor is led to believe that he is getting a price advantage. Common online provocations are seen in pop-ups that when clicked can get you a special discount or even a countdown timer that warns you that the time is running out on an exclusive offer. Even the quantity of a special offer may be limited to raise customer interest and create a sense of urgency, says a report on customer psychology published on http://www.lasvegaswebdesignco.com/.

Non-inclusion in an exclusive group: The other provocation that works very well to push visitors to complete a transaction is the innate desire to belong to a group that is exclusive by dint of access being limited to the public. Invitations to join a group consequent to taking a certain action become powerful motivators because of the impression that not everyone can become a member of that group at will.

Early or limited information; Almost everybody like to have information before others receive it as they think it will give them an advantage. This is the feeling that is exploited by marketers when they say that visitors signing up for a special group will receive information about sales a few hours before the rest, which means that their chances of grabbing exclusive offers stand greatly increased.

Do It Now Messaging

All regular web users and visitors to online stores are well used to the concepts of flash sales, items of the day, lightning deals, etc. that are all designed to prompt you to make a purchase now. For example, Amazon has a deals page where a number of “deal of the day’ items are displayed. The time for which the item is available as a deal is displayed together with discount rate, which goes to convince the user that the offer represents an extremely lucrative deal, and needs to be purchased immediately before the clock runs out. Ticketmaster also manages to create the same sense of urgency by adding a timer that begins a countdown the minute you place tickets in the shopping cart. There is an inbuilt threat that if the transaction is not completed before the clock runs out, the tickets will be up for sale to someone else. It then becomes your urgency to grab the tickets while you can.

Another attention grabber is the display of the discounted price in large characters against the background of the original price that is shown struck out. Often the money that a customer saves by opting for the deal is also shown to make him feel good about the purchase, and also use it to justify the transaction because the offer might not be available later. Usually, the discounted price is written in red because somewhere our brains have been programmed to associate this color with a sense of urgency.

Conclusion

Design can be used in many subtle and not-so-subtle ways to create a sense of scarcity or urgency that then becomes a major influence in the customer’s mind to engage with the brand. There is perhaps nothing as powerful an emotion as the chance to be one up on the rest. Of all the emotions a customer experiences, paucity is unique because it catalyzes sales conversions far more effectively than others.