SamplingLab Connects Consumers to Brands Through Smart Devices
Thursday, January 29, 2015
SamplingLab takes advantage of retail and iBeacon technology to deliver content and product information right to your smart device or smart phone.
The SamplingLab opened on Dec. 6 and since that short amount of time it now boasts a membership base of 4,300 according to Jeff Davis.
The store educates consumers on new products and offers consumers a chance to provide feedback before the products hit the market.
To give feedback, potential customers must first become members of SamplingLab by filling out a short survey illustrating the customer’s interests and needs.
After becoming a member, consumers are able to enjoy one free product a day in exchange for their feedback.
Some innovative qualities of SamplingLab are that it takes advantage of retail and iBeacon technology to deliver content and product information right to your smart device or smart phone, and feedback can easily be submitted via social media in the comfort of one’s own home.
SamplingLab offers a variety of products for customers to try out from food and beverages to personal care, beauty, health, and household items.
GoLocalPDX had a chance to speak with SamplingLab’s owner Jeff Davis. Here is what he had to say:
GoLocalPDX: What inspired you to start this business? SamplingLab.com
Jeff Davis: My background includes 25 years in public relations and marketing, and the last 10 years in particular have exposed me to a lot of food brands. During that time, I've heard about the issues and challenges that brands face regarding product sampling and consumer feedback, and I saw a gap in how traditional product sampling is being done. Specifically, there’s little or no meaningful feedback loop taking place when products are sampled either in supermarkets, at events or via street teams. In those environments, brands seldom know to whom they're giving samples, and almost never know what the consumer thought about the product or have suggestions for improving it. SamplingLab is not exclusively about sampling food products, but given my background, we launched with most of our products being food and beverage items.
Who is your target customer?
SamplingLab primarily targets Millennial consumers, which we define as 18 to 35-year-olds. We don't exclude non-Millennials from joining and participating in SamplingLab, but the products in the store are aimed at that demographic.
We’ve signed up more than 4,300 Portland consumers since right before our opening on Dec 6. 75% of our members fall into the Millennial category, and about the same percentage are women.
What is the credo of SamplingLab?
SamplingLab is about connecting brands and consumers by giving consumers a voice back to consumer brands who are eager to listen. Millennial consumers are already voicing their opinions about products they like and dislike on their social media channels, but lack the framework to effectively be heard by brands. Likewise, brands need a mechanism in place to ask meaningful questions about their products beyond some high-level “likes” and “dislikes."
Do you hope to branch out and what is the “next step”?
Our Portland store is essentially our proof of concept store. I specifically chose Portland to launch SamplingLab because I felt the city would embrace such an innovative and unconventional model, plus for its strong Millennial population. If we hit our targets and establish the concept’s overall viability, my plan is to open SamplingLab stores in other markets that meet our requirements.
SamplingLab is located at 4019 N. Williams Ave. Portland, OR 97227 and is open M-Saturday 10am-7pm and Sunday 11-6.
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