Market gaps or shortages can occur when a needed product or service is not available or when customer demand is greater than the current available supply.
Opportunities then exist for someone to step in and meet that demand.
Each summer, the demand for rental houseboats was greater than the supply of boats available in a community resort area. A hotel employee noticed that there was a demand for a mattress repair service and none existed. She quickly signed contracts with several hotels and opened a mattress repair business. Look for potential supply shortages caused by companies going out of business, changing their production focus or shutting down temporarily.