B (1:50)

I will speak for myself personally. Absolutely. Like, I want it if it says only at and I need it. It's like, I didn't know I needed it until I saw that. So scarcity is very powerful for me personally. I think it has to be a powerful lever for others as well.

A (2:07)

Yeah, I can't remember the last time, like, I made a purchase with that in mind, but I'm sure I have. I'm sure it works. I just can't. I can't think of something. But you're right. You think like the basic principle seems pretty sound. So we're not alone in that. Most retailers believe that these labels drive sales by creating the sense of scarcity and differentiation. But this study found something surprising. It does not always. In fact, sometimes it can actually hurt sales. Let me walk you through it. This is how they tested this. I know. Really surprising. They ran two experiments using real looking ads for retailer exclusive products. One had a Target exclusive Dyson vacuum. The other had a retailer exclusive Blu Ray movie combo pack. So that tells you how old this study is.

B (2:55)

Blu Ray is a form of DVD that has better definition.

A (3:00)

Thank you, Rob. I wonder what year this was published in. Now I'm kind of curious. Sorry, Taylor, I just gotta look this up. Oh, interesting. It was 2024. I guess they just used it as kind of an example.

B (3:13)

Sure. How to buy a Blu Ray anymore.

A (3:15)

Yeah, interesting. Those are the two categories. And each ad had different versions. So some said the product was exclusive to Target, others didn't. Some version listed multiple exclusive features like bonus content for the movie or special colors for the vacuum. Then they measured how people reacted, asking about their purchase intent, willingness to pay, and interest in seeking the product out. And here's what they found. The exclusive label by itself had no positive impact on consumer behavior. People weren't more likely to buy or even look for the product just because it was quote, unquote only at Target. And they also looked closer and found that adding more exclusive features actually made products less appealing. So the vacuum's exclusive red color lowered purchase intent. People saw it as trivial, like the retailer was trying too hard to justify a difference that didn't matter. Which I could see that if it's just like, hey, super exclusive. You get this in red. It's like, all right, you couldn't make it in red anywhere else. Like, really. So customers might penalize a product if the exclusive feature feels irrelevant to what the product is supposed to do. So, Rob, if these labels aren't really helping retailers, what marketing strategies do you think would be worthwhile?

B (4:21)

I think in store experiences offer so much creative opportunity. Like how do you find new ways for consumers to try your product in the store? You know, to interact with the product. Whenever a marketer can pull off the creation of a line for people to try your product, you'll see that when kids are playing the video games in the store or whatnot. But nothing draws a crowd like a crowd. Those types of strategies are pretty interesting.

A (4:48)

Agreed. Lots of creative ways that they could experiment. And I think even I know that they're not finding this is worthwhile. But it's probably worth testing because honestly. So the study was in 2023. I wonder how much it being a DVD affected the results. Honestly.

A (5:05)

Because if I saw an exclusive DVD at Target. Yeah, like, yeah, no, I'm not buying.

B (5:10)

It would actually make me think less of Target.

A (5:12)

Right. You know, that seems like it was Captain America though, from what I can read here. So.

B (5:19)

So I love Captain America, a 10 year old movie done on a DVD. I mean, that's free on Disney Plus.

A (5:27)

Yep.

B (5:28)

Let's keep going with this one. I mean.

A (5:31)

Oh my gosh. Okay, well, let's talk about takeaways. First, exclusivity. It's more of a signal than a strategy and it's not always a good one. So if your exclusive feature isn't tied to real product value, people are going to see through it. That, I think makes sense. Second, context matters. So an exclusive idea might work for hedonic product like a movie or a video game, but it can backfire for utilitarian products like a vacuum or appliance. And third, trivial attributes can hurt you. And I think this one is also a really good takeaway. Something like a color change or limited packaging might draw attention. When it distracts from core performance, it can make the product seem worse, not better. I think that's really interesting because sometimes I feel this too. As a marketer. You're like, I need a product launch, I need something new. If people perceive it as trivial, they might not. It might not help you. And finally, exclusivity without emotion doesn't feel exclusive. The study pointed out that only at Target doesn't carry the same emotional weight as being part of, say, an insider group or a loyalty program. If it's available to everyone, it's not really exclusive at all. Time for a Rob GPT retailer, exclusives are like giving someone a participation trophy and calling it rare. True exclusivity isn't about limiting access. It's about creating meaning. A color change or a sticker on a box won't make people care. Real exclusivity is when the product or the brand makes people feel like insiders. It's not about saying only at Target. It's about making someone think, this was made for me. All right, Rob, what did you think?

B (6:54)

My question is.

B (6:58)

The study is trying to make a point about the product itself, right? Is it more desirable if it's only available at the store? Is that correct?

A (7:10)

I think they use the two different types because they were trying to see how would people react to exclusivity depending on the product type? So they weren't trying to, like, see which one won between the vacuum and the dvd. It was just. It helped with the context of this, like, exclusive feature. What they were really trying to see was when does exclusivity, does it help or hurt?

B (7:29)

Because what I was trying to figure out after I was thinking about it is, let's pretend for a minute it doesn't do an amazing job of selling more vacuums, but it's more attractive for Target because Target is promoting the fact that they have something you can only get at Target. And so is Target getting a bump from it while maybe the product isn't?

A (7:51)

Yeah, I guess they didn't test for that.

B (7:52)

But do you get where I'm going? Like, exclusivity may actually, to your point, not be as much benefit as one might think for the product, but is the retailer getting a bump from it?

A (8:04)

I would think so. Right. If you're having. You would depend. Yeah.

B (8:08)

Be perceived as having more goods.

A (8:11)

I would think that the retailer is more likely to benefit than the brand. So exclusivity. It's more of a retailer strategy than a brand strategy.

B (8:19)

Yeah.

A (8:19)

So if, I guess that takeaway then is, if you're a retailer, definitely try to invest in this free move. Yes. If you're a brand, probably look for other types of retail promotions or different ways to promote your product, but this one is probably not going to help you out. That's it for this episode of the Marketing Architects. We'd like to thank Taylor De Los Reyes for producing the show. You can connect with us on LinkedIn. And if you like the podcast, please leave us a review. Now go forth and build great marketing.

A (8:51)

Marketing Architects.