---
id: "quote-identity-statement"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["§ Tap into Young Customers' Individuality and Community Needs"]
tags: ["consumer-psychology", "gen-z"]
related: ["concept-identity-through-scarcity", "claim-blind-boxes-drive-identity"]
speaker: "Yang Li"
speakers: ["Yang Li"]
quote: "Owning a rare Labubu doll that no one else has? That is a bold statement of identity and individuality."
sources: ["attention"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-attention"
originDay: 4
articleStem: "hbr-foci-68-popmart-attention-economy"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2025/07/how-pop-mart-won-young-customers-in-a-fragmented-attention-economy"
sourceTitle: "How Pop Mart Won Young Customers in a Fragmented Attention Economy"
---
# Scarcity as Identity

> "Owning a rare [[entity-product-labubu|Labubu]] doll that no one else has? That is a bold statement of identity and individuality."
> — [[entity-yang-li|Yang Li]]

An explanation of the psychological mechanism underpinning the success of limited-edition physical goods among digital natives. It is the textual anchor for [[concept-identity-through-scarcity|identity through scarcity]] and [[claim-blind-boxes-drive-identity|the claim that blind box mechanics satisfy deep identity needs]].