The Swiss sneaker manufacturer On had a problem: it was too successful. If everyone is suddenly walking around in the same sneakers, it gets boring: Mainstream kills the hype.
The solution was an old marketing trick: launch a limited-run model. The first color variants of the “Cloudnova” were sold out within three hours, and anyone who wanted to get hold of a copy of the “ultra-limited” successor had to try their luck in a draw. The tight supply was a real demand booster.
What used to be reserved for fashion items and music albums is now available for virtually all consumer goods. The latest trend according to the New York Times: limited editions for babies. If you look around Swiss online shops, you will immediately find numerous examples. A floral strap dress “made of limited upcycling cotton” for 62.90 francs, the “Rainbow Day Limited Edition” baby carrier for 168.35 francs, a small pan for preparing baby food “Beaba Babycook Neo Limited Edition” for 185 francs.
Karin Frick, trend and future researcher at the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute in Rüschlikon ZH, can explain the phenomenon. It has to do with human history: “Our behavior is shaped in such a way that we react to scarcity. For a long time man was not used to abundance.» Even tighter than the latest Roger Federer sneaker these days, however, is only one thing: our attention. This is the scarcest commodity of all, says Frick. That’s why the battle for customers’ favor is getting tougher and harder.
fight for attention
During the pandemic, new brands came onto the market that offer their products exclusively as “limited editions”. The shops were closed, only online shops were open during lockdown times. And nowhere is the battle for attention greater than on the Internet.
New products were announced days before on all social media channels. Scrambled to add excitement and counted down: 100 copies, available from midnight. The decision to buy or not to buy can then hardly be made carefully, says marketing professor Abigail Sussman in the New York Times. You have to grab it immediately – otherwise you might get nothing.
Coca-Cola did it with individually labeled cans, H&M had famous fashion designers design a collection – even the children’s chocolate bar is available as a limited edition this summer: “Experience the taste of Dark & Mild for a short time only.”
