USA Today: Why people are going crazy for Stanley x Starbucks quenchers
UC marketing professor says limited edition items can create urgency that fuels fads
Limited edition products, such as the Stanley x Starbucks quenchers that have taken social media and Target stores by storm, can play to consumers’ psyche, a University of Cincinnati marketing professor told USA Today.
The latest craze is a pink 40-ounce tumbler that launched exclusively at Starbucks stores inside Target locations on Jan. 3. Apps such as TikTok helped created buzz, and some shoppers waited for hours in line to grab the coveted cups.
Joshua Clarkson, PhD, Arthur Beerman Professor of Marketing Department of Marketing
By labeling a product as limited edition or exclusive, companies can increase the item’s perceived value, said Joshua Clarkson, PhD, the Arthur Beerman Professor of Marketing in UC’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
“It's this idea that we like what we can't have, and we don't like to have our options limited,” said Clarkson, a consumer psychologist who specializes in the areas of persuasion, social influence and self-control.
When products are labeled as limited edition, it tends to do a good job of creating a sense of urgency, Clarkson said.
"In looking back on our lives, we regret inaction more than action,” he said. “So the idea that if I buy this and I don't enjoy it, that really doesn't nearly bother us as much as the idea that, ‘Oh, I could have bought this and I didn't.’
“This sense of urgency can lead to this fury of excitement and buzz. It almost starts like that snowball that just starts rolling and ... at some point you kind of step back and say ‘How did we get here?’”
While a fad may seem trivial, the chase to secure a coveted item can create connections that build community.
"There is an element of this that is sort of kind of fun,'' Clarkson said. "It's really cool to see so many people from all these different walks of life and all these different places that we would not have connected with, that do sort of connect and bond over something that is seemingly trivial."
Featured image at top: Exterior of a Target store. Photo/Shabaz Usmani via Unsplash.
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
Lindner graduate students shine in international simulation competition
November 10, 2025
Five master’s of information systems (MS IS) students took home fifth place out of 23 universities at the International ERPsim Competition hosted by HEC Montreal during the recent spring semester. The competition tests students’ knowledge of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and their ability to adapt to challenging business problems.
Sugar overload killing hearts
November 10, 2025
Two in five people will be told they have diabetes during their lifetime. And people who have diabetes are twice as likely to develop heart disease. One of the deadliest dangers? Diabetic cardiomyopathy. But groundbreaking University of Cincinnati research hopes to stop and even reverse the damage before it’s too late.
Is going nuclear the solution to Ohio’s energy costs?
November 10, 2025
The Ohio Capital Journal recently reported that as energy prices continue to climb, economists are weighing the benefits of going nuclear to curb costs. The publication dove into a Scioto Analysis survey of 18 economists to weigh the pros and cons of nuclear energy. One economist featured was Iryna Topolyan, PhD, professor of economics at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.