Chanel Liu’s post, “Why is Hard to Buy an iPhone 5S These Days?”, indicates that Apple used a strategy called “hunger marketing”(the commodity producer reduces the quantity supplied in order to trigger a higher demand) to gain a much higher profit.

The fact is that iPhone 5S is enough popular so that this marketing strategy is practical and useful. Due to the preference of consumers, iPhone 5S becomes a trend and a large number people desire and have a plan to buy it. As a result, there is an inelastic demand. Even though the price goes up, many people still want to buy it. Now, the shortage emerges because the quantity supplied is noticeably lower than quantity demanded.

However, here comes out a question. Can competitors take any advantage of the shortage of iPhone 5S? Although some buyers such as buyers who are in urgent need of smartphones will give up lining up for iPhone 5S and choose other models of phones, Apple still has a much higher possibility to win the battle. It is because Apple released 5C as the alternative in order to keep its consumers.

Resourse: https://blogs.ubc.ca/chanel111/2013/10/03/why-people-cannot-buy-a-new-iphone-5s-these-days/