The Pandemic Caused a Change in Product Sampling That's Here to Stay for Many Brands

Walk into a grocery store today and you likely won't see an attendant offering a complimentary sample to curious shoppers. Throughout the pandemic, brands that once relied on the time-tested strategy of in-person product sampling had to find new ways of getting their goods into the hands of potential customers. Some found new digital methods are eclipsing the old, due in part to the data they deliver. “Sampling, in the way that we knew it, is dying,” said Michael Leo, chief executive of Ripple Street, a New York-based company that partners with brands both big and small to provide product samples to shoppers. Bo Kim, a senior principal analyst at Gartner, explained that in-store food and beverage sampling will return eventually, but it is bound to be more individual—both in terms of packaging and the experience itself—and include some form of technology. Adapting to the environment Traditionally, Ripple Street has provided a range of goods to people who sign up for its service to host house parties. Due to the pandemic, the company created a virtual version of this program, allowing its 380,000 active users to experience new products in the safety of their homes while still chatting about them online. It has shipped more than half a million sample items to shoppers since the outbreak and sees a hybrid version of its house party in its future. Last fall, Ripple Street partnered with Anheuser-Busch to send $15 gift cards to individuals to purchase Babe Wine. An internal survey found the initiative led to a boost in favorability, purchase intent and willingness to recommend the beverage among participants. It also resulted in more than 9,000 social media engagements, according to Ripple Street. Sampling, in the way that we knew it, is dying.Michael Leo, chief executive of Ripple Street Like Anheuser-Busch, Heineken U.S.A. has also run into hurdles with letting people try its products during the pandemic. In January, the brewer teamed up with meal-kit company HelloFresh, adding two mini cans of the nonalcoholic Heineken 0.0 beverage to orders. Nearly 100,000 customers opted into the program. Knowing that people are increasingly trying to start the year fresh by abstaining from alcohol, the arrangement targeted specific shoppers better than handing a drink to an unknown passerby the brand may never see or hear from again. “Typically, someone who is subscribing to HelloFresh is someone who is trying to eat healthily and take care of themselves,” said Borja Manso Salinas, vice president of marketing at Heineken U.S.A. Delivering data The strategy of placing samples within their natural context is one that’s picking up steam. Showplace, a Colorado-based startup that connects brands with hosts renting out their dwellings on platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo, said it has seen strong growth during the pandemic as people avoided hotels and reduced travel. Working with Dove deodorant, Serta mattresses and Voss bottled water, the company expects its samples to reach more than 2 million people in 2021, up 400% compared to 2020. The benefit of putting samples in people’s homes is making the product available “at the exact right time and the exact right place that someone wants to use it,” explained Justin Miller, co-founder and CEO of Showplace. There’s also a halo effect, as the people interacting with the items tend to be relaxing on vacation. And since the company knows the demographic details of guests checking in and how much they’re paying per night, it can match them with the most appropriate brands, which can review an aggregated version of the data. Changes in Consumer Behavior Due to the Pandemic At the same time, rather than creating entirely new options for sampling, the pandemic has accelerated trends already in motion. One is the rise in ecommerce, leading to a decrease in foot traffic to physical retailers. By connecting with consumers digitally, brands have an avenue to generate valuable insights, gather consumer feedback and collect email addresses for retargeting—things that aren't as feasible through traditional sampling methods. Last month, for instance, FrontLine Marketing, a division of the sales and marketing agency Acosta that puts products in store display cases, turned its focus to online sampling. The business announced a partnership with Sampler, a Toronto-based platform that mails products. Throughout the pandemic, the number of brands working with Sampler increased 60% to 660. The company shipped more than 1.75 million samples to people’s doorsteps in 2020, up from 760,000 in 2019. In examining the efficiencies of digital sampling during the pandemic, brands are uncovering some of the inefficiencies of conventional in-store sampling, said Courtney Day, svp and general manager at FrontLine Marketing. "We've been held accountable for ROI in our traditional display business forever," Day added. "We were not going to get into the sampling space unless we could create that same experience for brands."