THE SHORT OF IT: Amazon.com, with its millions of shoppers, knows a lot about us, as do other e-commerce sites. Why aren’t these sites using this information to recommend product samples to brands when over 70% of consumers say they are likely to buy a product after first trying it. Less than 25% say the same thing after seeing a commercial on TV?
Product sampling helps consumers better understand a company’s product or service and thus increases the likelihood of a purchase. 81% of passersby who engage in a company’s display or pop-up activation mention that they visited because they wanted a product sample.
In the food and beverage industry, evoking your products taste and smell as a means of marketing is irreplaceable. Sampling remains the most important way of reaching consumers in a taste-driven market. After all, sampling allows consumers to trial a product without obligation – future or current. While product sampling is a key ingredient in any balanced business marketing strategy, it also remains important for consumers. It allows consumers to indulge in a product without capital. For many consumers, this means that they can explore if the taste of a product is right for them. Food sampling toes a fine line between customer acquisition (via reaching new customers) and customer retention (via increasing brand value and awareness).
Today online retailers know a lot about you via your browser and shopping history. It seems a perfect match for products sampling yet it’s estimated that less than 10% of online retailers use product sampling.
The effects of short-term purchase behavior in relation to sampling has beenshown consistently in research. When consumers are offered free samples, their short-term purchasing behavior (i.e. the day of the sampling promotion) is significantly increased. So, remember, sampling doesn’t only spread a product to consumers quickly, it also urges consumers to make purchases the day of the product sampling. In a way, product sampling is like getting paid to market a product. Beyond short-term purchasing behavior, having a consistent sampling program as part of your marketing strategy has boosted the sales of some grocersas much as 2,000%.
- Researchers found that free samples increased consumers purchasing behavior towards the brand for as long as 12-months post-sampling.
- Researchers found that including sampling increased sales towards a brand significantly as opposed to coupons, which had no effect.
- Belch & Belch showed that product sampling had a significant effect on consumer purchasing behavior towards the sampled brand.
- In 2011 the British Food Journal reported a study showing that free sampling significantly increased the likelihood of purchased products.
Of course, product sampling could slow down Amazon deliveries but with the money, Amazon devotes to R&D one wonders why they haven’t figured out that product sampling could be a win-win for both consumers and their Amazon.
If I have a new product to launch, product sampling will be in my mix, whether via e-commerce sites or included with Sunday paper deliveries. There is a reason why Costco charges brands for sampling on weekends. It works, and it’s effective.
Discover more from New Media and Marketing
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
