The bottom line: Everything has a catch
Free samples and free shipping can often make us buy more
Last time you went shopping and saw free samples, did you grab one? Chances are good that you did, and I bet you thought you were getting something for nothing. Well, the truth is that “free” isn’t usually what it seems.
Studies show that the majority of us accept a free sample when offered and feel really good about it. But retailers offer free samples for a reason: Samples make us buy more. Grocery stores have reported that free sampling can increase sales of a product by up to 2,000%.
Often, we find the sample to be delicious and so we purchase the item. Other times, we reluctantly buy the sampled product only to return home and find out that we don’t really want it. But what you may not realize is that even if you don’t buy the particular free product, you’re still more likely to spend more at the store on other items after you have gotten a sample.
This phenomenon occurs because our brains have a need for reciprocity. In the simplest sense, if someone gives us something for free, we feel compelled to make things even. That means buying more than what we originally intended. A more sinister psychological factor is that we get warm, fuzzy feelings when someone gives us something (more technically, endorphins start flowing through our brains, which give us a temporary high), and that makes us feel like we have a positive relationship with the retailer, making us more likely to spend money with them.
There’s even more to the power of free than the reciprocity principle. Free has a unique impact to our brain’s mental calculator. The difference between free and a cent makes a big difference in behavior. Consider something that happened to Amazon a while back. It offered a free-shipping promotion in Europe and watched as sales dramatically increased —in every country except France. They investigated and found that the cost in France had accidentally been listed as one franc (about 17 cents) rather than free.
When the mistake was corrected, sales increased in France just as it had with the other European countries. Simply dropping a product’s price to account for a shipping charge doesn’t do the trick. If you charge for shipping, you need to drop the product cost by far more to entice a consumer to buy. This is why so many studies have confirmed that free shipping is an impressive driver of online purchases. It isn’t the power of shipping or even free shipping; it is the power of free.
Extra grocery items or an extra
In the simplest sense, if someone gives us something for free, we feel compelled to make things even.
Amazon book may not do you too much harm, but what about permanent body ink? A survey of people who received free tattoos at a nightclub one evening showed that 68% of them said they would not have gotten the tattoo if it wasn’t free. That’s right, the power of free caused club-goers to get an unwanted permanent tattoo.
So can we combat the undeniable force of free? Unfortunately, we will likely have only limited success tackling it head on. The brain is OK when it comes to numbers, and we are reasonably good economic animals. But we simply don’t know how to comprehend the number zero.
There are, however, a few tricks. Most importantly, just say no to free samples. Remember when your grandparents said, “Nothing comes for free?” Well, they were right. The cost of that free sample is more spending. Accepting a sample is an automatic behavior for many of us, but override that instinct and you will benefit from a smaller shopping bill.
Next time something is free, ask yourself if you’d be willing to pay $1 for it, or even 10 cents. If the answer is no, you’re better off not taking the free item. If the answer is yes, you will psychologically embed a cost onto the sample and that alone can reduce its negative effect. If all else fails, every time you take a free sample, mail me a dollar.
I’ll provide free shipping, of course.
Jeff Stibel is the USA TODAY bestselling author of “Breakpoint” and “Wired for Thought.”