The Comfort of Pumpkin During the Pandemic

2 Min Read By MRM Staff

With comfort food topping many menus this pandemic year, it comes as no surprise that the early arrival of pumpkin spice items has been warmly received. 

Freshly-brewed batch of data from foot traffic analytics firm Placer.ai shows Starbucks is wisely wielding the power of a popular seasonal weapon—The Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) to drive more customers into its stores as the summer winds down.

While the PSL is a seasonal beverage reserved for the autumn months, Starbucks has offered it earlier and earlier every year. 2020 was no exception, as the PSL hit stores on August 25. Placer.ai’s data shows that the PSL’s early release was, in fact, successful at increasing foot traffic to Starbucks, something that had been lagging post-pandemic. A link to the full report can be found here.

The Saturday and Sunday following the PSL’s launch, foot traffic was a mere 7.7percent and 6.2percent below 2019 levels of the equivalent Saturday and Sunday in 2020. Since the start of the…