For coffee brewers, pumpkin-spiced latte sales are grounds for celebration.

Answer: $511 million

Questions:

• Do you tend to spend more money on seasonal items like pumpkin-spiced lattes? Why or why not?
• What is a potential opportunity cost if a person spends between $5-6 on a pumpkin-spiced latte once per week?
• What are some other examples of products that increase in popularity at different times throughout the year?

 Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (ABC10 NEWS):

"Why are we so obsessed with pumpkin spice-flavored items? Americans spend more than $500 million on pumpkin spice products each year, according to data from Nielsen. There’s a psychological reason behind this trend.

“If it's just a seasonal, limited time only, you're more likely to consume it multiple times over that same time period than if it was spread out over a long period of time,” said Jadrian Wooten, an economics professor at Virginia Tech.

“The longer it’s been since you had it, you have very fond memories of it. So a really famous example is the McDonald's McRib that just sort of comes out at random times. You just sort of forget what things tasted like,” he explained."

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About the Author

Mason Butts

After graduating from UCLA with a Master's in Education, Mason spent 5 years as a science educator in a South Los Angeles public high school. He is committed to supporting the holistic growth of all students and empowering them to live a life of relational, academic, and financial success. Now settled in the Bay Area, Mason enjoys facilitating professional developments and partnering with educators as they prepare students for a bright financial future. When Mason is not building curriculum or planning a training, he can be found cycling, trying new foods, and exploring the outdoors.