During the holiday season, Starbucks released a new and very popular product: a 20-ounce glass cup shaped like a bear, called the “Bearista” cup. As soon as people discovered it online, it became viral and created a huge craze. Many customers waited outside Starbucks stores long before opening time, and some even camped overnight to make sure they could buy one. One person said that people were already waiting in line at 9 p.m. the night before.
A content creator from New York, Rob Pepicino, woke up at 3:30 a.m. to go to his local Starbucks. He waited until the store opened at 5 a.m., but even though he was third in line, the store had only one cup available, so he was unable to get one. Many people behind him were also disappointed and became stressed when they realized there were not enough cups.
The cup originally cost $29.95, but because demand was extremely high, people quickly started selling it on resale websites for hundreds of dollars. This situation is not new: the year before, shoppers ran into Target stores to buy Stanley tumblers, which also became a viral trend. Marketing experts say that companies create limited and exclusive items because it makes customers feel special. Thanks to social media, these products spread very quickly, and each holiday season now brings a new trending item that everyone wants to buy as soon as possible.
Vocabulary:
• viral (adj.): something that spreads very fast online
• frenzy (noun): wild, excited behaviour
• content creator (noun): a person who makes videos or posts online
• resale (noun): selling something again, usually at a higher price
• exclusive (adj.): special and limited, not for everyone
• crowd (noun): a large group of people
• promotion (noun): a special marketing event to attract customers
• overnight (adv.): during the night
• limited (adj.): not many available
• trend (noun): something popular at a certain moment
• opening hours (noun): the time when a store starts to work