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Published almost 2 years ago • 1 min read

Bowles' bowl cajole.

In the runup to Prince Charles' and Camilla Parker Bowles' April 2005 wedding, souvenir sales were disappointingly low.

Shops from London to Windsor reported sluggish sales of tea towels, coffee mugs, and commemorative bowls.

The British public wasn't fussed.

But then overnight, demand changed.

Suddenly, sales sky-rocketed, with Brits cleaning out shops and buying up all available stock.

Did Brits suddenly change their opinions? No, the date changed.

Due to Pope John Paul's funeral, the wedding date was pushed from the 8th of April to the 9th, resulting in lots of incorrectly dated souvenirs.

Parker-Bowles's bowl sales were driven by pure scarcity.

According to Steve Martin in his latest book Influence at Work:

Several journalists already in Windsor to cover the royal event asked shoppers leaving stores with bags of souvenirs whether they were supporters of the royal family. Most said no. The motivation to purchase royal mementoes had little to do with the royal wedding. They simply thought that the misdated items would be rarer and, consequently, worth more in the future.

Scarce resources drive sales.

They turn uninterested Brits into shelf-clearing customers.

In one study, wholesale beef buyers more than doubled their orders after being informed that a shortage of Australian beef was likely due to forecasted bad weather.

The opportunity is clear.

If there's something about your proposal that's genuinely rare or exclusive, make it as prominent as possible.

Cheers!

Phill

Nudge Newsletter

Phill Agnew

I spend 18 hours each week turning marketing psychology into readable newsletters.

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