Shamrock Shake Season

MacKenzie Schill

Mrs. Straub

AP Econ

28 February, 2017

Shamrock Shake Season

Now that winter is coming to a close, and March is right around the corner, America is are ready for the white snow to turn to green grass, just like they are ready for their vanilla shake order to turn to a green, minty charm - or in other words the unveiling of the Shamrock Shake from McDonald’s. This mint-flavored favorite has been only been available nationwide since 2012, selling over 35 million beverages. (LedBetter) Every year people anticipate its return for months, hoping to rekindle their long lost relationship with this seasonal phenomenon. Those who are not American fast food lovers, and have not experienced the delight of the Shamrock Shake, might wonder what makes this drink so popular compared to the rest? The truth lies beneath the economic components that partner with this special treat. The scarcity, seasonal trends, and company popularity are all factors that play a part in making the return of McDonald’s Shamrock Shakes so successful.

(Billboard advertisement for McDonald’s Shamrock Shake)

Many people may think that the return of the Shamrock Shake is every March, but to McDonald’s fanatics and lovers, the real return was in 2012. This was the recent release of the minty drink but it was originally introduced in 1970 as the St. Patrick’s Day Shake. However at this time, in the mix of an oligopoly, McDonald’s was no where near what is is today. So the delicious drinks name wasn’t catchy enough and was scrapped from the menu just a few years later. Since the growing and popularity of the franchise, McDonald’s tried a more alliterative route changing the name to Shamrock Shake. Now that McDonald’s is the leading fast food restaurant in the world, the total revenue and quantity sold has increased solely on the fact that McDonald’s is the restaurant offering them. (Top) Other fast-food restaurants offer trade-offs original products like vanilla, chocolate, and caramel beverages, but nothing unique like the Shamrock Shake. This also ties into McDonald’s being the “popular choice” which influences where people choose to spend their money, and alters consumer expectations.

Even though McDonald's is so popular, the scarcity of Shamrock Shake definitely adds to its extremely high demand. McDonald’s uses a strategic pricing and limitation plan to make to ensure there is not too much of an input increase, which would cause marginal output to decrease and result in diminishing marginal returns in Shamrock Shakes. Therefore there some minty desserts accessible all year, but McDonald’s niche is m their delicious minty shake is not available majority of the year, and consumers are only able to enjoy their favorite drink over a one month period. This low supply creates a very high demand, especially following the eleven month drought, shake lovers are at their peak withdrawal and are willing to purchase a higher quantity even at a higher price. Since the drink is only available for a limited time, the decision of whether to offer the beverage at individual stores is up to the franchise owner. While most choose to offer this restricted drink, some do not which turns the US McDonald’s map into a frosty green patches of have and have-nots.(McDonald) The limited supply actually upsets customers is specific areas since the demand is so high. The Los Angeles area is a notable Shamrock Shake deadzone, with heartbroken seekers from across southern California. One customer said “My kids are very sad!” while another said  “[they are] heartbroken, why has [McDonald’s] done this to us!”(Purtill) This only goes to show that only provided this drink over a specific time period increases the demand which overall increases the popularity of the product and total revenue for the company.

The scarcity of the Shamrock Shake really is determined by the seasonal characteristics that play a part in McDonald’s profit of Shamrock Shakes. Since there is a high opportunity cost because the shake is only offered one month out of the year and they could sell it for longer or all year, the seasonal impact of March and St. Patrick’s Day comes into major effect.  This has to do with the demographics of America since nearly 127 million people celebrate St. Patrick’s Day which means that about 51.2% of our popular celebrates this holiday. (Kiernan) And of course it accompanies purchasing green foods and products. McDonald’s decided to take advantage of the Patties Day celebrations and trends because when March rolls around, buyers are already seeking green oriented foods, and beverages and decor.  

All in all, due to the scarcity, seasonal cravings, and company popularity, McDonald’s Shamrock Shakes have become an extremely popular early-spring beverage. It is estimated that McDonald’s will sell over $150 million of Shamrock Shakes this March as they are offering new varieties like: the traditional mix McDonald’s vanilla custard with green mint-flavored syrup, a chocolate version featuring two layers, a chocolate shake on bottom and the mint-custard mix on top, a Shamrock Chocolate Chip Frappe which is a mixture of mint syrup, mocha, and caramel frappe, and lastly Shamrock versions of hot chocolate and frappe, which simply add the mint syrup to both beverages. (DeJesus) The shake-up in the menu will attract even more customers and make McDonald’s Shamrock shake that much more exclusive.

(Photo of the original Shamrock Shake along with the new beverage offered this March)

Works Cited

DeJesus, Erin. “Brace Yourself: New Shamrock Shake Flavors Coming to McDonald's.”Eater, Eater, 6 Feb. 2017, www.eater.com/2017/2/6/14521142/mcdonalds-shamrock-shake-chocolate-new-flavor. Accessed 27 Feb. 2017.

Kiernan, John S. “St. Patrick’s Day 2016 By The Numbers.” WalletHub, Evolution Finance , 16 Mar. 2016, wallethub.com/blog/st-patricks-day-statistics/10960/. Accessed 27 Feb. 2017.

McDonald, Andy. “Here's Everything You Want To Know About The Shamrock Shake. And Some Things You Don't.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 14 Mar. 2015, www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/14/shamrock-shake-information_n_4916266.html. Accessed 27 Feb. 2017.

Purtill, Corinne. “The annual search for the McDonald’s Shamrock Shake is a map of heartbreak and triumph.” Quartz, Quartz, 17 Mar. 2016, qz.com/641937/the-annual-search-for-the-mcdonalds-shamrock-shake-is-a-map-of-heartbreak-and-triumph/. Accessed 27 Feb. 2017.

“Top 10 Largest Fast Food Chains In The World.” The Mysterious World, 25 Nov. 2016, themysteriousworld.com/top-10-largest-fast-food-chains-in-the-world/. Accessed 27 Feb. 2017.

Ledbetter, Carly. “McDonald's Shamrock Shake Is Back!” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 20 Feb. 2015, www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/20/shamrock-shake-coming-back_n_6721620.html. Accessed 27 Feb. 2017.

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