Sampling To Support Retail Listings
For brands looking to launch a new product or safeguard an existing listing, product sampling is one of the most effective ways to drive awareness, encourage trial, and ultimately boost sales. Whether you’re introducing an NPD or trying to help stop a product getting de-listed, a strategic sampling campaign can make a tangible difference. Sampling doesn’t just create awareness – it builds brand loyalty, generates word-of-mouth recommendations, and provides the sales momentum needed to keep products on shelves or get them stocked in new retailers.
Support an NPD with Sampling
Launching a new product development (NPD) is an exciting yet challenging process. The early success of an NPD can determine its longevity in the market, and securing a strong retail listing is crucial. But to maintain shelf space, you need strong consumer engagement from the outset.
Sampling helps by putting the product directly into the hands of consumers, ensuring they experience the product first-hand. This drives immediate brand awareness, increases consumer education, and encourages purchase intent. Research shows that product sampling increases the likelihood of purchase by as much as 30-50% compared to traditional advertising alone. By letting consumers experience a product before committing to a full purchase, sampling builds trust and removes barriers to entry, particularly for innovative or unfamiliar products.
At Gems Sampling, we take a data-driven approach to maximize impact. Our targeting capabilities ensure that samples reach the right audience – people most likely to become repeat customers – without the need for costly social media or digital advertising campaigns.
Near-Store Targeting for Maximum Impact
One of the most effective ways to drive in-store sales is to ensure that sampling occurs in close proximity to the retailer where the product is available. We use near-store targeting to place sampling activations within a short distance of key retail locations. Whether it’s an office, gym, home, university, or any other of our sampling solutions, we provide consumers with dynamic step-by-step directions guiding them from their location to the nearest retailer carrying the product. This seamless path-to-purchase significantly increases the likelihood of conversion, as the product is immediately accessible post-trial.
Brands that use near-store sampling see a marked increase in conversion rates, as convenience plays a key role in consumer purchasing decisions. When paired with additional purchase incentives such as discounts or digital vouchers, near-store targeting can drive even higher foot traffic and immediate purchase intent. We’ve helped brands as varied as Gifflar, MadeGood and Misfits increase their sales drastically through the use of near-store mapping.
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Help Stop a Product Getting Delisted
A product at risk of de-listing ahead of a range review often faces declining sales or low consumer awareness. A well-executed sampling campaign can reverse this trend and provide a much-needed boost in sales. We have a proven track record of increasing sales two to threefold for products on the verge of de-listing by strategically targeting the lowest-performing stores and reinvigorating interest among shoppers.
With our detailed consumer insights, we can identify and reach the exact demographic that is most likely to purchase the product. By analysing factors such as shopping behaviour, previous purchase history, and consumer preferences, we ensure that sampling campaigns are highly targeted and designed to make an immediate impact.
Use Sampling to Strengthen Your Position Ahead of a Retailer Review
Retailers regularly review product performance to determine which items stay on their shelves. Brands that show strong and growing consumer demand are more likely to maintain their listings, while underperforming products risk being de-listed after a range review. A strategic sampling campaign in the lead-up to a review can drive a surge in sales and consumer engagement, providing the necessary proof of demand to secure continued retail placement.
Sampling can generate a spike in sales figures that retailers look for when making decisions. By leveraging sampling at the right time, brands can ensure they meet or exceed retailer expectations, strengthening their case for continued distribution.
Use Sampling to Gain New Retailer Listings
If your product is not yet listed in a specific retailer, sampling can serve as a powerful tool to demonstrate demand and secure shelf space.
For example, if you are not currently stocked in Tesco, we can run a targeted sampling campaign and collect post-trial data on how many consumers who regularly shop at Tesco intend to purchase the product after trying it. This real-world evidence can be presented to the retailer as proof of consumer interest, significantly increasing the chances of securing a listing.
Several of our brand partners have successfully used this strategy to expand their retail presence. Retailers want to stock products with clear demand, and our sampling insights provide the hard data needed to support these negotiations.
Support Sales with Sampling and Incentives
Sampling alone is a powerful sales driver, but when paired with incentives such as vouchers or digital coupons, the impact is even greater. Offering a discount or promotional offer alongside a sample encourages immediate purchase, increasing conversion rates and providing additional motivation for consumers to visit a retailer.
At Gems Sampling, we integrate digital tracking capabilities to measure the effectiveness of campaigns. By using unique coupon codes or QR links, we can track redemptions, monitor conversion rates, and gather valuable insights into consumer purchasing behaviour. This data helps optimize future sampling efforts, ensuring maximum ROI for brands.
Conclusion
Whether you’re launching an NPD, trying to help stop a product getting de-listed, or looking to gain a new retailer listing, sampling is a proven strategy that delivers measurable results. Through near-store targeting, strategic consumer engagement, and the use of incentives, brands can drive retail sales and strengthen their position in the market.
With Gems Sampling’s data-driven approach, brands can bypass the high costs of traditional advertising and engage directly with the consumers most likely to purchase. By reaching the right audience at the right time, sampling provides a cost-effective and results-driven way to support retailer listings and drive sustained success.
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