Highlighting the limited availability of certain products with printed labels could result in more demand from shoppers, a new study has suggested.

Sarah Kim and Aparna Labroo from the University of Chicago looked at shopping patterns in supermarkets and found that buyers were more likely to be interested in hard-to-get items.

Even people who classed themselves as 'smart shoppers' were likely to desire products that were kept at the back of displays or on high shelves, while they were also prepared to travel miles away from their home in order to get items seen as desirable.

"Wanting the best outcomes automatically results in increased preference for any outcome associated with effort, even pointless effort," explained the authors in the Journal of Consumer Research.

This could encourage manufacturers to create limited edition ranges and only make them available to selected stores.

Coupons printed in booklet labels may also encourage buying of these products.

Denny Bros Ltd, 12 August 2011