Spring 2008

Although online shopping is often compared to shopping in a physical high street, there are obvious differences, and one is that online shoppers can't easily be offered free samples.

However, fulfilment specialist Granby Marketing hopes to change that. It has launched a system called sampleEZ, which it describes as a fixed-fee solution to online sampling.

Basically, online retailers can use Granby to manage the whole process of setting up an online free sample exercise, from designing a simple online application form to handling order processing and fulfilment, and doing end-of-campaign reporting and analysis.

The company has taken pains to make the service transparent. It offers a fixed fee set-up and a fixed charge per 1,000 samples for fulfilment. The only variable is the postage, which is charged at cost on the basis of the pricing matrix of the carrier being used.

According to sales and marketing director Stewart Oxley: 'The biggest concern for brands considering using the channel has been the perceived complexity of online sampling and the assumed high set-up and operational costs involved.'

Granby says it is in advanced discussions about running the service for a major supermarket chain, which is interested in expanding the reach of sampling activity from the in-store environment to online customers. Two other clients will be starting projects in from the middle of this year, it adds.

Just how valuable are free samples as a sales tool? Very, according to Granby. It cites research by published in the 2006 National Incentive Survey suggesting that 73 per cent of consumers consider samples to be the biggest influential factor in whether they purchase a product.