Department stores, food halls and convenience
In Store Product Sampling At The Point Of Purchase
In store product sampling puts the product in a shopper’s hand a few steps from the shelf it sits on. The decision and the trial happen in the same trip, which is why in store sampling converts at a rate no advertising placement gets near.
We staff tastings, demos and trials in department stores, premium food halls, travel retail, health and beauty, homeware and convenience, including campaigns inside John Lewis, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and WHSmith Travel. It is a controlled environment: the retailer sets the position, the hours and what your team may and may not do, and the brief has to match that.
Bookings are made per store, per day. You tell us the stores, the dates, the hours and how many people you want in each, and a thirty-store rollout is handled as one booking. Supermarkets work differently and are quoted differently, so sampling in supermarkets has a page of its own.
An itemised quote, usually within hours, with day rates, hours and on-costs listed for every store on the rollout. No hidden fees, one invoice.
Assigned once the quote is signed off, with a project manager on the booking and 24/7 support while it runs.
Our operations team pick people on skills, experience and location, so the person on the counter came from the nearest of our 40 hubs.
Your briefing form becomes a tailored document covering the product USPs, the audience and the key messages, alongside the retailer’s own rules.
Right to work and ID verified. Employer and Public Liability cover on every campaign. DBS, food hygiene and risk assessments available on request.
We are the employer. PAYE, tax, National Insurance and HR are all handled in house.
Shift reminders, geo-tagged check-ins and live attendance monitoring, which is what keeps a multi-store day honest.
Reporting with attendance confirmation, on-site photos and feedback, quoted alongside the staffing as an add-on.
The Team at Executional are always great to work with and it has been a pleasure working with everyone. The team are always very quick to help and consistently demonstrate strong flexibility especially when adapting to any last-minute requests.
Space NK, verified client review
What we supply
Five Jobs On A Retail Floor
What the team does in store is set by where the retailer will let them stand and what they are allowed to hand over. These are the five jobs.
Tasting Table Hosts
A staffed table or counter with the product portioned and served. The format retailers are most willing to allow, because it is contained and tidy.
- Serving portions and talking through the product
- Working to the retailer’s hygiene and presentation rules
- Pointing shoppers to the fixture the product sits on
Suits: confectionery, fine food, spirits, chilled, bakery
Demo Counter Staff
Where the product has to be shown working rather than tasted. The team runs it, hands it over and answers the question the packaging cannot.
- Showing the product in use, repeatedly, through the trading day
- Handling the objections that stop a shopper buying
- Resetting the display between demonstrations
Suits: homeware, beauty, small appliances, tools, tech
Fixture And Aisle Samplers
No table. The team works the aisle the product is on, offering a trial to shoppers already stood in front of the category.
- Approaching shoppers at the fixture rather than at the door
- Carrying stock rather than occupying floor space
- Moving between fixtures where the retailer allows it
Suits: challenger brands, new listings, range extensions
Multi-Store Rollout Crews
The same activity repeated across an estate on the same day or the same week, with one brief and one standard in every store.
- Teams drawn from the hub nearest each store
- One booking and one invoice across the whole estate
- Shift reminders and geo-tagged check-ins at every site
Suits: national listings, seasonal pushes, launch weekends
Store Liaison Leads
On larger rollouts an event manager or campaign lead handles the store managers, the access arrangements and the day-to-day changes, and is your single point of contact.
- Confirming access, position and timings with each store
- Holding the brief consistent across every site
- Absorbing the changes so you are not fielding them
Where we have worked
Retailers We Have Sampled Inside
Named from campaigns we have delivered, not from a wish list.
Access is the retailer’s to give, and the head office usually decides it rather than the store. Where a permission is needed we arrange it, and any cost is quoted alongside the staffing. Grocery is a separate conversation with a separate set of rules, which is why sampling in supermarkets is handled on its own page, and product sampling as a whole is set out on the main service page.
Recent work
Campaigns Run Inside The Store
Four campaigns delivered on retail floors across the UK.
John Lewis
Chocolate Tastings Roadshow
Tasting tables run inside John Lewis food halls across the estate.
Selfridges
Luxury Confectionery Tastings
A premium tasting position on one of the busiest retail floors in the country.
Travel retail
WHSmith Travel Stores
Trials run in transit retail, where the shopper has minutes rather than an afternoon.
Harvey Nichols
Luxury Chocolate Tastings
An ongoing in-store programme on a luxury department store floor.
Get a quote
Tell Us The Stores And The Dates
Send us the stores, the dates, the hours and how many people you want in each. We will come back with a fully itemised quote, usually within hours, one line per store per day.
