At least 100 attendees packed the room for Beauty Packaging’s sold-out conference on “Sampling Your Way to Sales,” despite the fact that it overlapped the World Cup finals. While Germany played Argentina, Beauty Packaging’s editor Jamie Matusow, and speakers from PinchMe, Glossybox, Vbeaute and Murad discussed the many uses of sample sizes, ranging from opportunities offered by subscription boxes to triggering purchases of full-size products.

Jeremy Reid, founder and chairman of PINCHme, whose goal is to convert trial to purchase in beauty and other categories, said very little follow up has been done on sampling. Brands have only had limited success with sampling programs as far as ROI, ending up with the right consumers, etc. He said everyone will take a sample because it’s free but will later throw it away. How do we make sampling more efficient? Reid said the answer lies in digital, smart phones, etc. “The Internet attracts people and makes sampling more targetable. The impact of social media has changed sampling,” he said. Managing social media is critical because people tell their friends about it—and that’s the greatest marketing of all.

Samples are no longer just to increase sales and brand awareness, according to Elian Pres-Gurwits, president of Glossybox USA, which aims to maximize the impact of beauty samples by elevating sampling beyond brand awareness—and beyond the box. Glossybox now has a marketing platform in 10 countries, the U.S. being its strongest audience. They send boxes with prestige products once a month and the consumer goes on line and gives feedback. “Glossybox does not sell products; trying a product gives you an emotional experience,” said Pres-Gurwits.

But he said, brands have to have a unique element about them. He said we’re at a “moment of change in the industry, but right now, the majority of beauty purchases are still made in store.” However he added, “Digital works with the store, and trial is leading the purchase.”

A bad experience with skincare products while flying, led Julie Macklowe, founder of vbeauté, to journey to Switzerland in a quest for the best skincare ingredients. Thus, the It kit, with five travel essentials based on the Swiss alpine rose, was born. Her original sampling kit grew into a line of full-size products, but the V-kit contains all travel essentials in one “compact” of samples, in recyclable packaging. With a goal to make the products available and affordable to everyone, she has re-engineered the formulations—and has participated in sampling programs with both Pinchme and Glossybox.

With Murad’s line of more than 100 products, sampling is a huge business in supporting new and hero products, said Andrea Koons, Murad’s executive director, global marketing.  She said they launch about five products a year and support the products in several ways: with basic samples, such as packettes and foil tubes; deluxe samples, which are individual or grouped as GWP; and  small tubes, jars and pumps. She said they are also “doing a lot with social media.”

In addition to giveaways, Murad is also selling a $15 trial kit as a retail sampler. “Consumers will now pay for this even though they wouldn’t have a few years ago,” said Koons.

Koons acknowledged that sampling is increasingly important at retail, especially in travel bins such as those at Sephora. She also pointed out other opportunities that Murad has taken advantage of for getting sample products into the hands—and onto the skin—of potential consumers: airline amenities and hotel amenities. “It may take a lot of work,” said Koons, “but these programs can be quite successful.”