Following closely behind Google's Nexus 4 mobile phone - and seemingly every new Apple product launch - now Microsoft is claiming the predictable "supply problems" that ensure that people simply can't get their hands on a new product because of implied "unexpected customer demand". The reasonable response to my cynicism is to question why a company would intentionally limit supply in order to create the impression of high demand - rather than simply meeting demand and maximizing short-term sales. Well, the answer to that is simple - if there isn't a high demand to begin with, one approach to creating more is to pretend that high demand exists and that there are fewer products available - so "act now". And we'd also have to ask why companies would launch a new product while obviously being aware of pre-existing supply problems.
This is the same approach that has worked on the Home Shopping Network and other mass marketing platforms for decades. By creating the illusion of high demand and limited supply, consumers are more likely to make the impulse purchase with the justification that waiting to do so might result in long delays - and that by purchasing the item they will immediately own something that many others simply "can't have" right now. It's a proven marketing approach, but it points to a rather disturbing fundamental demand situation if "every" major technology company is now employing the same tired tactics.
The reality is that these companies are offering products with overlapping functionality - and upgrades to previous models typically don't come with "must-have" improvements. Of course demand isn't going to be what it was - or would be - for truly groundbreaking technology. A "slightly better" tablet or smartphone simply isn't going to bring consumers out in droves, especially not in the worst economic recession/depression in 80 years.
At some point, we'll likely discover that all the supply problems and unexpected demand projections were just simple marketing ploys to entice consumers to purchase more products that they could likely do just as well without.
This is the same approach that has worked on the Home Shopping Network and other mass marketing platforms for decades. By creating the illusion of high demand and limited supply, consumers are more likely to make the impulse purchase with the justification that waiting to do so might result in long delays - and that by purchasing the item they will immediately own something that many others simply "can't have" right now. It's a proven marketing approach, but it points to a rather disturbing fundamental demand situation if "every" major technology company is now employing the same tired tactics.
The reality is that these companies are offering products with overlapping functionality - and upgrades to previous models typically don't come with "must-have" improvements. Of course demand isn't going to be what it was - or would be - for truly groundbreaking technology. A "slightly better" tablet or smartphone simply isn't going to bring consumers out in droves, especially not in the worst economic recession/depression in 80 years.
At some point, we'll likely discover that all the supply problems and unexpected demand projections were just simple marketing ploys to entice consumers to purchase more products that they could likely do just as well without.