This is Scientific Americans 60 Second Science. I'm Karen Hoffman. This will just take a minute.

If you've spent any time hitting up the giant wholesalers or other markets this holiday season, you've probably figured out that you can make a full meal out of those tasty little samples they often dish out.

Which seems like a good thing, for you and for your wallet.

But a new study shows that these tempting little treats really do entice you to buy what you try,

and maybe some other stuff like it.

Researchers track the sales in half a dozen stores that provided samples of snacks in four categories,

healthy, salty, frozen, or branded by a large coffee shop chain.

They found that Noshing Well Shopping convinces consumers to buy the featured

product more often than does simply seeing the product displayed at the end of the aisle.

They also found that repeating the sample offering multiple times

translates into sustained interest in the product.

And that stores that have a smaller assortment of products for sale

benefit more than the warehouse size Emporia.

The findings served up in the Journal of Retailing.

The researchers also discovered that the effect extends beyond the product itself,

such that, for example, nibbling on one brand of cookies makes you hungry for cookies in general, including those from competing brands.

Which suggests that a rising tide really does lift all boats.

Or at least that a tray of free takido's

will certainly lift a lot of shopper's spirits.

It'll keep those registers ringing well into the new year.

For Scientific Americans 60 Second Science, I'm Karen Hopkins.