Once considered a simple transactional tool at beauty counters or tucked into magazine pages, sampling has undergone a significant transformation in the digital age. As consumers increasingly shop online and demand more personalized experiences, brands have had to rethink how they introduce new products. The rise of direct-to-consumer (DTC) models, combined with the saturation of product choice, has made it more challenging than ever for brands to stand out and convert casual interest into loyalty.
Sampling has become a strategic cornerstone in the customer journey; not just a freebie, but a curated entry point into a brand’s world, securing customer loyalty. Today, samples are the third-largest driver to purchase for full-sized products, according to Euromonitor.
Digital sampling platforms have emerged to meet this shift, offering targeted, data-driven campaigns that allow brands to reach the right audience with the right product at the right time. Instead of casting a wide net, companies are now delivering personalized discovery sets and interactive sampling journeys.
Sampling is now designed to improve ROI and reduce waste. This evolution not only enables better tracking of consumer preferences and engagement but also aligns with broader goals around sustainability and efficiency. In a landscape where attention is currency, digital sampling is quickly becoming one of the most valuable tools in the beauty marketer’s kit. Brands can now engage high-intent consumers with tailored sampling journeys that link seamlessly to e-commerce and post-sample follow-up. The benefits are twofold: better ROI through higher conversion rates and reduced product waste. Brands such as L'Oréal, Liz Earle, Garnier, and Urban Decay can be sampled digitally.
Sampling in a digital age is more than a trial mechanism for brands; instead it is a valuable opportunity for gaining insight on target audiences and receiving data on consumer behavior—it’s a data goldmine. “Sampling … acts as a really great incentive to get that customer data,” explains Armaan Mehta, co-founder of digital sampling company Odore.
Jonathan Grubin, founder and CEO of SoPost, the UK-based tech company pioneering intelligent product sampling, reiterates Odore’s point. “Today’s brands aren’t just handing out products; they’re collecting valuable first-party information in exchange, such as names, emails, preferences, and even skin types or fragrance tastes. Brands can collect reviews, visual user-generated content, photos, click through rates, quantitative data, and qualitative data at the hands of brands.”
The benefits of digital sampling have a clear payoff. SoPost saw that 65% of users were planning on buying Benefit Cosmetics’ Fan Fest Mascara after sampling; the goal of this campaign was to create a fan base for the newly released product. Additionally, a further 78% of samplers would recommend the product to a friend.
Voice-activated technology is also reshaping how beauty brands approach sampling, and Send Me a Sample (SMaS) is leading this evolution. With over two million users already engaging via Amazon Alexa, the platform allows consumers to request product samples simply by voice command. Now, with the rollout of Alexa+, a more advanced version of Amazon’s voice assistant, brands can launch hyper-personalized sampling campaigns that tap into AI to tailor offers, product shades, and follow-ups to individual preferences.
“We built the Alexa integration to make it super simple and friction-free. You see an ad, say ‘Alexa, send me a sample,’ and you’re done,” says Will Glynn-Jones, founder and Managing Director of SMaS. “Our technology helps beauty brands meet consumers where they are— whether that’s on social media, in a podcast, or via a smart home device—and turn that engagement into a tangible product trial.”
This kind of frictionless interaction is particularly powerful in beauty, a category where trial is often non-negotiable. With SMaS, brands can not only offer that trial on-demand but also gather granular, real-time data on who is trying the product. Answering the two biggest questions every beauty brand has: “What did they think?" and "Did they buy?” Now, sampling can result in the specifics of “Why didn’t they buy, where do they plan to, what would make them repurchase?”
This access to rich consumer insight gives brands a competitive edge, allowing for hyper-personalization and more efficient allocation of marketing resources. “Now, it’s a strategic tool to drive whatever the brand's goal is—whether that’s sales, data collection, or content,” said Grubin. “Sampling used to be about mass reach, handing out as many products as possible. Today, it's about reaching the right people at the right moment and creating meaningful connections that last far beyond that initial trial.”
In order for sampling to be beneficial to the brand and consumer, it must ensure ROI and brand loyalty. Allowing consumers to experience a product in a low-risk, high-reward way fosters trust and emotional connection that converts one-time samplers into long-term customers. "Sampling definitely is, and will be, a long-term strategy. You can't change the fact that customers want to try before they buy,” said Mehta. According to Odore’s own data, consumers are four times more likely to purchase a product they have interacted with before.
The rise of miniature products and sampling culture has become a significant trend, particularly among Gen Alpha, which is increasingly drawn to smaller, trial-sized options. "Discovery kits are a big trend. For example, we’re seeing fragrance brands bundle multiple vials of different scents as retail products. Sephora has been doing this for foundation, offering shade matches and giving a discount on full-sized purchases,” says Larry Berman, Senior Vice President Sales of North America for global manufacturing company Arcade Beauty. In 2019, the minis market in the US reached $1.3 billion according to the NPD Group, now part of Circana.
The rise in minis and samples within the younger generations can be attributed to the fast-moving microtrends resulting from social media platforms, skincare experimentability, and the collectibility of beauty products as opposed to the use of them.
Sustainability is becoming a central concern in the evolution of beauty sampling, as brands and platforms look to reduce the environmental impact of traditional mass giveaways. “Sampling is now designed to improve ROI and reduce waste,” explained Grubin, highlighting how digital-first strategies allow brands to target only high-intent consumers and avoid the scattergun approach of the past.
Platforms like Odore further support this shift by offering curated, data-driven experiences that prevent overproduction and excess packaging. Meanwhile, Send Me a Sample’s voice-activated system eliminates unnecessary print materials entirely, delivering streamlined sampling directly to engaged users. According to a report by WARC, 82% of beauty consumers are more likely to buy from brands that align with their sustainability values, reinforcing why efficiency in sampling isn’t just smart; it’s essential. By combining personalization with eco-conscious execution, digital sampling is emerging as a win-win for both brands and the planet. Hyper-personalized sampling not only increases the success rate of sampling but helps reduce wasted product, CO2 emissions, and packaging.
In today’s competitive beauty market, sampling has evolved far beyond a simple promotional tool; it’s now a strategic necessity. As brands navigate the digital landscape, personalized, data-driven sampling is allowing them to engage high-intent consumers, improve ROI, and foster long-term loyalty. Through digital platforms, brands can better understand their audiences, refine their marketing efforts, and reduce waste; all while aligning with consumer demand for sustainability. With the rise of voice-activated technologies and AI-driven personalization, beauty sampling is poised for further transformation. As the beauty industry continues to innovate, those who embrace smarter, more targeted sampling strategies will be best positioned to drive growth, enhance customer relationships, and make meaningful connections that go far beyond the initial trial.
