Sample Central, the world’s first ‘tryvertising’ store has opened its first regional flagship store in the Middle East, in Dubai, Festival City. The store offers customers a unique membership-based retail experience, and the opportunity to sample and take home products without purchasing them.
Through the ‘tryvertising’ (or try-before-you-buy) concept, Sample Central members pay for their products through their opinions. Annual membership in the UAE, after which customers can visit the store to try out various products, including fitness equipment, electrical goods, food and grooming products…and much much more!. Members can take certain products home for free – all that is required in return is for them to fill out a short, simple questionnaire on the product, devised by the manufacturer.
The entire process takes place in a real shopping environment in real time with a willing and accepting customer base and provides crucial feedback from members – helping brands, designers and manufacturers to revitalise established products and improve or fine-tune new launches for the mass market.
Anthony J James, Founder and Global CEO of Sample Central, comments: “We are delighted that Sample Central now has a presence in the UAE. Our concept brings to life the ‘theatre of retail’ and places customers in the driver’s seat when it comes to brand interaction. Members can visit the store as frequently as they please and pick out products to take home with them for free. This method of tryvertising ignites the conversation between brands and consumers, and after trying products in our store, our members regularly return to retail to buy the product.”
Nielsen, a leading global information and insights company, is cooperating with Sample Central in the UAE to bring the benefits of ‘tryvertising’ to its customers in the region.
Commenting on the launch, Akash Pal, Executive Director of Consumer Research at Nielsen, a leading global information and insights company, said: “Measuring what, why and how consumers buy is a core component of Nielsen’s expertise as we seek to help companies win. In a crowded retail environment, companies using direct, action-based research methods to better understand consumer decision-making in a real-life environment can increase their chances of success when entering new markets or re-launching brands or products.”
Sample Central was launched in Japan in 2007 and is now found in over 20 countries including in Europe, Asia and South America. Following the launch of the Dubai Festival City Mall store, Sample Central aims to increase its presence across the GCC and develop a similar and successful model in each country. There are plans for the concept to be rolled out across the Middle East and North Africa in due course.
