A new retail phenomenon from Japan which allows customers to walk away with free products is to launch in Britain.

From tomorrow, visitors to SampleTrend’s central London store can try anything on its shelves, and all of the products can be taken home without charge.

For a nominal annual membership fee of ￡60, users are free to enter the shop once a month and help themselves to no less than ￡250 worth of goods every year.

The only ‘catch’ is that shoppers are asked to complete a simple questionnaire about each product they try.

Known as ‘try-vertising’, the concept allows manufacturers to test products and receive consumer feedback before launching onto the open market.

It is already a sensation in Japan and now looks set to transform the fortunes of the embattled UK retail industry.

According to new figures, stores are facing a Christmas crisis with the weakest High Street trading for six months.

Michael Ghosh, the brainchild behind SampleTrend, said: 'The concept behind SampleTrend is unique in the UK.

'It allows shoppers the opportunity to walk away with a number of real, full-size products of their choosing without handing over a penny.'

The concept of in-store try-vertising is simple but effective. Businesses across all sectors, from cosmetic manufacturers to beverage makers, place new products on the shelves at SampleTrend and wait for consumers to try them out.

Customers complete a short 10-point questionnaire about the product, and the feedback they provide is used to make any last-minute tweaks before the product is brought officially to market. The SampleTrend store stocks everything from cosmetics, food and drink, and household goods.

Ghosh, the former advertising and sales director for Disney Europe, said such feedback may also build brand loyalty from the outset - a particularly appealing prospect for new businesses.

(Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)