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Finshots

9 Jul, 12 tweets, 2 min read

Ever wondered what's the psychology behind free samples?

Here's all you need to know 🧵...

Milton Friedman once said that there is no such thing as a free lunch. But if you think about the freebies that brands offer us, you might feel otherwise.

We’re talking about free samples, trial packs, & testing kits. Do companies really want you to test their product and make an informed decision, or is there something more at play here?

Well, yes. Free samples hinge on the principle of reciprocity, a fundamental law in social psychology.

Think about it - when you use a sample, you might feel obliged to do something nice in return — like purchasing a product as a “thank you” for getting to try a sample. This is your urge to reciprocate at play.

An article in the Atlantic also notes that when you’re trying a product at a sampling station of a mall, you might feel a social pressure to make a post sample purchase. Why?

Well, people feel the need to equate the karmic imbalance to the person giving out the sample since they're being watched by fellow shoppers.

This, along with the fact that we’re risk-averse and rarely want to make a purchase without knowing how well a product works, makes free samples a powerful tool that converts us into buyers of the product.

So what might seem free is still a transaction where the companies gain your loyalty and attention. And while the initial expense of samples may be higher than other marketing strategies, the results are almost always astounding.

For instance, in the case of US retailer Costco, well known for giving free samples, the reported increase in sales was close to a whopping 2000%.

And according to a few studies, the conversion rate of free samples is usually between 25-30%, meaning that at least a quarter of those who try a free sample end up buying the product.

So there indeed is no such thing as a free lunch after all.

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