UAE | General
Unique idea: Now, shop for free
Yes, you can buy what you want from over 150 products without paying a dirham at new concept store opening in Dubai shortly
- By Muby Asger, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 August 11, 2011
- Image Credit: XPRESS/Oliver Clarke
- An idea whose time has come: Anthony James, owner of Sample Central, explains the tryvertising [try before you buy] concept.
Dubai: Imagine going shopping, browsing through the aisles of a supermarket, picking up anything that appeals to you, and then walking away without paying a single dirham.
When Sample Central, a new concept store by Australian entrepreneur Anthony James, opens its doors to Dubai at Festival City in November, the dream of shopping for free will become a reality for many.
"It's tryvertising [try before you buy], in the best sense possible," says James. "Consumers get the opportunity to take something and try it out before making the decision to buy."
In exchange for their purchases, consumers pay with their opinion. Each buyer is required to fill out a survey of the product they have taken home, in exchange for being given the item.
A retail store destination like no other, Sample Central is a members-only store, with an annual membership of Dh100. Members have access to their own online portal page on the store's website, www.samplecentral.ae, to manage their shopping experiences. While membership will only open closer to the launch date of the store, pre-registration is now available on the website.
Since each member is allowed to pick up five items per visit, per day, to the store, time and access is restricted. "A member needs to pre-book to shop there. Each shopping experience is limited to an hour of in-store time, at the end of which the shopper checks out, heads home to test their free products and submits a review.
"Human nature dictates that everyone loves something for free," says James. "As a result, there are no prices associated with our products. People will "buy" products based entirely on what is relevant to them and what appeals to them instead of buying based on affordability."
The concept of try before you buy also has huge financial benefits for the brand, explains James. "Take, for example, a bottle of shampoo. Most people already know which shampoo works best for them. It's a brand they've been using for a long time. However, given the chance to get another brand for free, and having tried it out, they may just prefer it over their existing brand. Our surveys show that 80 per cent of the time, consumers are ready to pay extra for a new brand that they have sampled, over their existing product."
When the store launches in November, expect to sample from around 150 different brands, on a fortnightly rotation, so that no product remains in the store for over two weeks at a time. Products and items available will include most things that one could find in a supermarket. All FMCG items from foodstuff to cosmetics, cleaning products, accessories and electronics will be available, from the low-budget brands all the way up to the designer tags.
As James says, it's the country's first free store. Who can refuse such an irresistible offer?
- 100 dirhams is the annual membership fee
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