USA Today: Why people are going crazy for Stanley x Starbucks quenchers

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."

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