Insider and others have reported that free samples are making a return to the aisles of Costco and expanding into more supermarkets.
During the pandemic, Costco completely shut down its allocations of free samples but eventually resumed and served them prepackaged behind plexiglass. In the middle of 2021, around 170 out of the company’s estimated 550 locations brought back full pre-pandemic food samples.
Since free samples have been part of Costco’s successful allure for decades, it’s surprising that this strategy hasn’t been adopted more liberally by retailers. But it looks like that’s about to change.
