Tis’ the season of mass spending. You might think of the latest fashion trend as the most pertinent symbol of excessive consumerism, but the truth is that these trends are merely the latest edition in the never-ending cycle of mass consumption. As October, November and December begin to descend upon us, another facet of consumerism becomes apparent. Sales grow as major companies create and market limited edition, “seasonal,” items to audiences. The chokehold that pumpkin spice and cinnamon brooms have on us is real. Companies use a tactic known as “artificial scarcity” to drive consumer demand, increase sales and generate social media buzz. However, the environmental and ethical implications of such marketing can get a little spooky…
Artificial scarcity is a marketing tactic that has been used for a long time. We all remember the “Unicorn Frappuccino”, Starbucks’ iconic limited edition drink. People practically threw themselves into Starbucks locations across the country, simply because the Unicorn Frappuccino was only available for 5 days. Many large companies employ this same tactic at various points throughout the year to drive up sales. The day that Trader Joe’s stocks their shelves with pumpkin spice snickerdoodles in September, or peppermint bark in December, customers seem to form lines out the door.
Artificial scarcity thrives because the small “window” of time that seasonal products are offered increases demand. Essentially, this tactic fixates on creating a future expectation that if you don’t buy something now, you may not get it ever again. “Through this, consumers feel a false sense of urgency and exclusivity to purchase limited edition products,” marketing expert Daniel Bisett said. Although Starbucks can make pumpkin spice lattes year-round, it is only offered as an official menu item for a select few months out of the year, causing a rapid spike in consumer demand during the months of September, October and November.
Using artificial scarcity as a marketing strategy, while effective, is an element of manipulation. The “limited time” window exploits FOMO (fear of missing out) by making consumers feel as though they are missing out on an essential part of seasonal bliss if they don’t purchase seasonal items while they are available.
As well as its ethical implications, scarcity marketing has significant environmental impacts. Red Cup Day, another one of Starbucks’ seasonal trends, is one day out of the year when Starbucks locations across the country give out reusable red cups to celebrate the beginning of the holiday season. This year, Red Cup Day will be as early as Nov. 13th.
Many people interpret this celebration as a promotion of sustainable practices by encouraging consumers to reuse their Red Cups, but it tends to produce even more waste. “I feel like the Starbucks cups are kind of a facade because, yes, they are reusable, but they’re only reusable to a certain extent. The plastic that they use is really flimsy. The more they’ve done this, the flimsier the plastic has gotten, and it’s going to eventually end up in landfills,” sophomore environmental studies major Kate Schenk said.
Additionally, there is a level of dishonesty surrounding scarcity marketing. When companies market their products as “limited edition,” they use phrases like “only one left in stock.” In reality, there is often an adequate amount of these “limited edition” items, but consumers tend to want what they can’t have. This lack of transparency is problematic for the environment because, when companies are secretly producing more products than they are selling, many of these products end up being thrown away once the season is over.
Seasonal scarcity seems to work like magic. However, marketing tactics that employ the concept of scarcity can be ethically questionable because they thrive on the exploitation of vulnerabilities. Coinciding with the ethical downsides of scarcity marketing, seasonal scarcity has detrimental impacts on the environment due to the amount of waste that limited edition products incur. As consumers, we could benefit from critical thinking and saying no to impulsive decisions. Do you really need that apple orchard scented candle? The best way to reduce waste and save money is to simply consume less. Anyways, seasonal festivity is more than material objects–it’s about the kind of magic you can’t put a price tag on.
