- Old Trick: Why does Apple delay the availability of its smartphones every year?
Apple has for many years relied on a psychological trick known as empty shelf psychology. Through it, it aims to create a state of anxiety and anxiety among the customer regarding his inability to obtain a copy of the new product due to the scarcity of quantity or the delay in its launch date in the global markets.
According to a study from the University of Alberta in Canada, shoppers will naturally respond to empty shelves with more obsession than if they see an abundance of the item they want. It’s a real selling point for Apple, too.
Rumors suggest that the new iPhone 14 Max faces the possibility of not being fully available at launch, which will give a double boost to consumers looking to trade in their old phones for new ones: while many may be waiting for the interesting new model (which will be cheaper, but lower in specs than the iPhone X). Pro Max, however, will offer a larger screen and a longer battery life), and others may be so caught up in the “new phone day” excitement that they will choose any of the available models.
“Lack of stock may suggest rumored consumers that the store is not being managed properly because the supply is not being adequately ordered,” says Paul Messinger, a professor at the University of Alberta School of Business who has studied the sale of many goods. But for newer merchandise, stores can use it as a message: It wasn’t that they weren’t asking for enough, it was perhaps the product was selling too fast for anyone to expect, so buy it when you can.”
So if Apple has a shortage of product when the iPhone 14 launches, it will likely ensure inventory sells out more quickly, creating a sense of urgency for those who thought they might want it, but didn’t decide before.
The study also gives us an idea of why the iPhone 13 is so popular, despite not being decisively ahead of previous models. Messinger added: “The products sold off the market create a sense of eagerness for customers; They feel that if one product is missing, the next one can also sell out.”
According to Tech Radar, the issue of Apple delaying the launch of the expected iPhone 14 series of phones this year, this will not necessarily pose any problem for Apple in the event of delaying its phones, especially with the disruption of some supply and supply chains due to restrictions imposed in China as a result of the outbreak of the Corona virus once more, especially In cities like Shanghai.
Since last year, rumors have consistently indicated that Apple will struggle to release the new iPhone 14 series on time, especially as the outbreak of the Corona virus in Shanghai has caused some phone manufacturers, such as Pegatron, to stop production for a short period.
Obviously, this would have a knock-on effect for anyone hoping to have a glut of new iPhones on launch day – and the chances of that would be lower if they aren’t made quickly at the moment.
But is this bad? Consider the case of the iPhone 13, which was launched last year. The ripple effects of the Corona virus and the lack of chips led to last year’s iPhone 13 series not being manufactured at full capacity until February 2022, yet it was one of the best-selling phone series of all time.
How might this be the case when production was not at full capacity? Even in December 2021, months following launch, consumers were still struggling to get hold of some iPhone models, with iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max constantly unavailable for in-store pickup and long lead times before delivery. And while it’s unlikely that Apple may have deliberately under-provisioned hardware, we just have to look at the excitement over the unavailability of PlayStation 5s to see the frenzy that occurs when something seems to be out of stock. This made some people want to buy a PlayStation 5, even if they weren’t enthusiastic regarding it. It gives people who have succeeded in obtaining this device a feeling that they have achieved an achievement and won an important competition.
