Free samples are back, but with safety in mind

NEW YORK >> When Pat Curry spotted bite-sized wood-fire rotisserie chicken with portabella mushroom at her local Costco in early June, she felt “giddy.” After a 14-month hiatus, free samples were back.

“It was one of the markers that told me that we turned a corner,” said the 60-year-old who lives in Augusta, Georgia. “It’s the little things that you do that were taken away, and now they’re back.”

When the pandemic was declared in March 2020, retailers worried about the potential spread of the coronavirus so they cut off free sampling of everything from food to makeup to toys. But now with vaccinations rolling out and the threat of COVID-19 easing in the U.S., stores like Costco are feeling confident enough to revive the longstanding tradition.

For customers, sampling makes it fun to shop and discover new items — not to mention getting all the freebies. For retailers, they’re critical tools to keep shoppers coming back and battle against online retailers like Amazon.

Food sampling converts browsers into buyers at a 20% higher rate than if customers weren’t allowed to test, says NPD Group Inc., a market research firm. The conversion rate is 30% higher when beauty products are sampled.

“Sampling is critical,” said Marshal Cohen, NPD’s chief industry analyst. “Impulse alone drives 25% of the retail business.”

Jake Tavello, a senior vice president at Stew Leonard’s, said promoting new items had been challenging without sampling, a tradition started by his grandfather who founded the regional grocery chain in 1969. Sales of a new item pink glow pineapple were OK this past spring, for example, but have tripled since demonstrations were reintroduced.

LM OTERO — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Tiffany Sawczenko hands a drink sample out her food truck window in McKinney, Texas. When the pandemic was declared in March 2020retailers worried about the potential spread of the coronavirus so they cut off free sampling of everything from food to makeup to toys. Now with vaccinations rolling out and the threat of COVID-19 easing in the U.S., food vendors and stores are feeling confident enough to revive the tradition.