Is Sampling the Solution To The Cost of Living Crisis?

Nearly half of all adults in the UK said they bought less food in the last two weeks due to higher prices- according to the Office for National Statistics*. Coupling this with petrol prices at a record-high, and an unprecedented rise in utility bills consumers are now, more than ever, tightening the purse strings.

Retailers such as Asda and Tesco have reported that shoppers are self-imposing stringent limits on their food shop, much like they do on their petrol bills- and with the price of ‘essential’ items being some of the worst affected, the consumers’ budget for ‘premium’, ‘luxury’, or ‘treat’ items is decreasing.

In response to this, consumers are switching over to own-label products and value ranges, with all supermarket value own-label lines growing by 12.0% in the last 12 week**. This means that consumers have less money to spend on premium products, or ‘treats’, and are less likely to experiment with new brands or products- except to make the move to own-label.

This creates a difficult situation for brands who are not only affected by rising commodity and logistical costs, but are susceptible to seeing a drop in sales now, and moving forward. The onus is now on brands to adapt and to discover new ways to win-back, convert or retain consumers.

Now is more important than ever to ensure that your products are ending up in shopping baskets, and to be a brand that a budget-conscious consumer is happy to choose, and to pay more for.

But how can a brand convert new customers, retain their current ones and, most importantly, stay relevant in this tough environment?

One solution is targeted sampling.

Targeted sampling allows a brand to:

Get products into hands, to alleviate the ‘risk-factor’ of converting for budget-conscious consumers.

Target key demographics, to increase chances of conversion.

Create consumer engagement, against a backdrop of low consumer-confidence

Capture insight, from a large pool of consumers.

With supermarket spending decreasing, and the ever-present cloud of HFSS still looming, it’s important that brands explore new opportunities and approaches to stem the tide.

In this sense, sampling should be seen by brands to be a viable and key solution – and a way to stay visible and relevant in a time of low-spending, and high competition.

Drop the team a line at hello@gems-sampling.com to book in a call to discuss the right sampling solution for you and your brand.