Kelly Goldsmith

Media Appearances

• Motorists line up at stations in D.C. region as fear of scarcity prompts hunt for gas

  Kelly Goldsmith, a professor of marketing at Vanderbilt University who has studied scarcity and uncertainty, said people tend to act defensively, even in a situation of “fake scarcity.”

  May 12th, 2021

• Despite pipeline restart, thousands of gas stations remain dry

  “There is not data showing that the gasoline shortage will worsen due to supply-side issues,” said Kelly Goldsmith, associate professor of marketing at Vanderbilt University, in an email. “And demand-side issues are under our control – we do not have to hoard gasoline.”

  May 12th, 2021

• Gasoline Buying Fever Rages as Pipeline Company Begins Restart

  “A lot of people are comparing this to the toilet paper hoarding of a year ago,” said Kelly Goldsmith, a Vanderbilt University marketing professor. “Once the dominoes start to fall, the pace picks up fast and furious.”

  May 12th, 2021

• It’s Not Marketing. These 18 Products Are Truly Limited Editions

  It’s not about “good taste,” either: The appeal is an instinct hardwired into the human brain. “As things are unavailable, we’ve learned we need to fight harder to get them,” says Kelly Goldsmith, a behavioral scientist and associate professor of marketing at Vanderbilt University whose research focuses on scarcity. “Whether that’s bison meat when we were cave people or A grades at school when you’re marked on a curve.”

  October 1st, 2020

• Panic buying amid a second COVID-19 wave

  Marketing professor at Vanderbilt University, Kelly Goldsmith says she thinks there will still be a fundamental stocking up of the basics.

  September 27th, 2020

• Coronavirus rationing: Target, Walmart limit purchases of hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, toilet paper

  Kelly Goldsmith, an associate professor of marketing at Vanderbilt University, has studied consumer behaviors around scarcity and how consumers behave. This panic shopping "is way worse than Black Friday because nobody's going to die if they don't get that flat screen on discount from Walmart," she said.

  March 11th, 2020

• A Survivor contestant and scarcity expert explains why you're panic-buying

  To her students at Vanderbilt University, Kelly Goldsmith is an expert on consumer behavior in the face of scarcity. To Survivor fans, she's a trooper who lasted 24 days in the searing Kenyan heat on the third season of the reality TV show. But to people anxious about the new coronavirus, she's one of a few people in the world that understand exactly what is motivating the Purell-hoarding and panic-buying that's going on in countries around the world.

  March 10th, 2020

• Should You Spend, or Save, as if You’ll Live Forever?

  “You see people get into binge savings in their 60s,” said Kelly Goldsmith, associate professor of marketing at Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management. “What that suggests to me is as you approach your retirement years, you understand I’m going to be the same person 10 years from now. There is less of a gap between who you are and what you’re going to be.”

  September 12th, 2019

• The Four Social Media Horsemen Of The Scarcity Apocalypse

  “I consider Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram to be the four horsemen of the subjective scarcity apocalypse,” says marketing professor Kelly Goldsmith. “I mean, these platforms give us 24/7 access into all of the lives of all of those Joneses who we are so desperate to keep up with.”

  September 10th, 2019

• 6 Things You Should Know About Groupon

  Don't buy any deal vouchers until you've reviewed the redemption requirements. "Every deal has limitations in terms of when its promotional value expires and what the deal can and cannot be used toward," says Kelly Goldsmith, associate professor of marketing at Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management. "It may be associated with a minimum spend at the vendor, and not all vendors within a chain may accept the Groupon."

  April 25th, 2019