Pumpkin Spice Sales Spike For All-Time High Before Start Of Fall
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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Head to the store or your favorite coffee shop and you're bound to see it – pumpkin spice!
Although temperatures are still in the 80s, the popular fall flavor, that can be found in everything from lattes to cereals, has already popped up in coffee shops and restaurants.
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There is a reason this fall treat is already available and experts say it's all due to consumer demand.
Some have already hopped on the tasty bandwagon to welcome fall a little early.
"I actually have. I got a pumpkin spiced milkshake," says one viewer.
Others, however, say they hate it. "I think it's a bit ridiculous," says a passerby.
"God no. It's against my religion," another tells Eyewitness News.
But sales show otherwise in a new study by analytics company Nielsen.
Data shows that the purchasing of products featuring America's favorite fall flavor have jumped nearly 10 percent since last year alone.
And, that's considering data from late August when many were still thinking about what type of sunscreen to wear.
So is holiday creep so last year or is seasonal creep the new norm?
"We're responding to what customers are doing and customers are responding to what the retailers are doing," says David Reibstein.
Reibstein, a professor of marketing at the Wharton School of Business, says this is a simple case of giving the customer what they want.
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"If that pumpkins spice is not selling in August, they'll stop offering it. But it's the response to what customers are doing," explains Reibstein.
If consumers really want to see a delay in early seasonal products, then they can put the brakes on the creep since they're behind the wheel.
The study shows sales of pumpkin-flavored products totaled nearly $500 million for the year ending August 25.
That's a nearly $7 million dollar jump from last year alone - an all-time high for the past five years.