Viral product sellouts can boost brand appeal and encourage faster purchasing, but repeated availability problems risk undermining customer loyalty, according to research from retail planning platform invent.ai.
The survey of more than 1,000 UK shoppers found that 55 per cent of fashion shoppers would question their loyalty to a retailer following repeated availability problems, while 53 per cent of health and beauty shoppers would reassess their brand allegiance.
Almost half (49 per cent) said they become frustrated when viral products sell out and believe retailers should have forecast demand better. Frustration rose to 61 per cent when retailers failed to anticipate demand for popular items more broadly.
However, scarcity can also increase a brand’s appeal. Some 44 per cent of health and beauty shoppers said missing out on a viral product made a brand more appealing, rising to 57 per cent among Gen Z. In fashion, 38 per cent said a viral stockout made a brand more desirable, rising to 54 per cent among Millennials.
Nearly half of health and beauty shoppers said they would buy faster from a brand after previously missing out on a viral product, as would 48 per cent of fashion shoppers.
“Viral demand creates a difficult balancing act for retailers. A product selling out can build excitement and make a brand more desirable. But that effect can quickly disappear if shoppers repeatedly can’t get what they want,” said Lukas Fischer, sales director at invent.ai.
“The challenge is knowing when a viral spike is a genuine signal of future demand and when it’s simply hype – and then making inventory decisions quickly enough to keep pace.”
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