Retail Industry News Analysis: Do Freebies Boost Sales and Consumer Goodwill?

U.S. Retailers Give Away Food, Drinks, and Healthcare tp Lure Recession Shoppers

As consumers collect recession benefits in the form of free food, free drinks, free medical care, and free entertainment from the retail industry this week, U.S. retailers are hoping that goodwill currency will metamorphose into physical dollars and relationships will evolve into sales. "Free" is the new discount that thrifty shoppers are responding to, and resourceful retailers are finding creative ways to make the zero price point profitable.

The recession soup line begins this week at Seattle's Best Coffee today, where customers can get a free caffeine fix just for showing up today. The giveaway is part of Seattle’s Best 39th Anniversary celebration, which will continue throughout April, and include free beverages for every person in America that was born the same year the company started. That’s a lot of free brewing, and a pretty narrow promotion demographic, but it’s got a lot of buzz potential for a growing company that’s stalking a weakened Starbucks chain.

The recession handout lines will reconvene on Wednesday at Denny’s. On the heels of the phenomenon it created with its Super Bowl commercial which advertised free pancakes, Denny’s is giving away its new “Grand Slamwich” breakfast concoction to customers this week. This time, though, you have to buy the pancakes in order to get the sandwich for free. Denny’s is still a for profit organization, after all.

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