Slinging back samples at the grocery isn’t just good customer service, it’s good business.
In-store samples are a bread-and-butter growth tactic for new consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands. The pandemic has put samples on lockdown, forcing upstarts to go curbside.
Recently, electrolyte-drink startup Cure Hydration partnered with Walmart to place its samples in curbside orders at 1k+ Walmart stores.
… tells CNBC that curbside sampling has cut costs by as much as 80%, and guarantees more samples in customers’ hands — because who can resist a 2 oz. bottom-bag surprise?
Big brands are stuffing brown bags, too.
General Mills is ramping up production of sample-sized bites to be included in curbside deliveries at Target, Kroger, and Walmart.
Walmart execs have hinted they may start charging for insertion — something subscription boxes have done for years — as the company looks to drum up lost in-store revenue.
Sales of grocery store deliveries and pickups have skyrocketed since the beginning of the pandemic, and continue to remain strong.
According to Statista, delivery and pickup dollars hit a high of $7.2B in June 2020, up from $1.2B in August 2019.
With more curbside sales volume, sampling makes a ton of sense. One study found that samples increased brand sales more significantly than coupons.
So sample on, curbies.