Product sampling still effectively impacts the shopping behavior of consumers worldwide. This conclusion was drawn based on the Global New Product Innovation Report of June 2015 by market research office Nielsen.
Nielsen investigated amongst other the consumer’s perception of new products and mapped the impact of channels through which they’re presented. Product sampling is mentioned as one of the most effective ways to introduce new products to consumers and to activate them all at once.
Sampling is another key driver of awareness and trial. Nearly one third of global respondents (31%) say a free sample is among their top five sources of new product information.
Nielsen Global New Product Innovation Report
In Belgium, the impact of sampling on awareness and trial is estimated even bigger. According to data consulted by Gondola, more than 53% of the Belgian population would consider buying a new product after testing a free sample. That puts us way above the European average of 38%.
For years, BD myShopi is a preferred partner for retailers and brands for door to door distribution of product samples. That’s how Belgian consumers got to retrieve coffee capsules from their physical mailbox, how the cat of the house got to taste a Whiskas sample, how hot sauces from Devos & Lemmens were put on the menu, etc. Moreover, when distribution meets segmentation, specific target groups can be reached more easily, as was demonstrated by the sampling of Imperial vanilla pudding that mainly focused on families with young kids.
The 2014 Door to Door Impact Survey which was carried out for BD myShopi to map the impact of door to door communication shows that segmented sampling indeed works. Consumers not only love the surprise that comes with finding a free sample in the mailbox (91%), they are actually activated to buy the product (85%). Furthermore, no less than 87% of the interviewees indicated they would love to receive even more free samples, so… who’s next?
Together with our customers, we keep looking for the best way to introduce their products to consumers. It’s well-known that samples with unique discount codes have a clear added value: the consumer is even more triggered to buy the product and at the same time the impact of the sampling campaign becomes perfectly measurable. When samples are accompanied by a matching folder in the weekly myShopi folder package, they are guaranteed to have more success as well.
Would you like more information about product sampling? Check out the case study for our Continental Foods and Delhaize sampling campaigns or contact us for more information.
Source: Global New Product Innovation Report