Product Demonstrator Jobs: How to Get One and Earn $20+ Per Hour

Have you ever walked into the grocery store and noticed there were people standing around giving out free samples?

Whether or not you walk over and grab a free sample of pizza, cheese, coffee or whatever the item of the day is, you can’t help but wonder how and why these people are just standing around and offering free food to anyone and everyone.

I used to be one of these people…for three years. I did demos on weekends at a local grocery store when I was in college. And, based on my experience, this a better part-time job or side hustle than a full-time job.

Which makes it perfect for my side hustle post of the week. Now, if you’re wondering how to find product demonstrator jobs, you’re in the right place.

If you missed any of my side hustles posts for this series, check ’em out:

How to Get Started With Freelance Writing
How to Sell Items on Amazon and Ebay
Become a Mystery Shopper

Around the time I got started, I was mainly looking for a way to make extra money that didn’t require a lot of time and effort. One day I was at the grocery store with my mom and I saw a man standing near a cart with food. He didn’t seem like he was doing much at all.

It seemed like such an easy job. So, I worked up the nerve to ask him what company he worked for and how I could do his job as well. When he told me, I applied online and heard nothing for weeks. Around two months later, I got called for a phone interview and the rest is history.

What Does a Product Demonstrator Do?

Product demonstrators conduct what’s called a ‘demo’ in certain stores for a specific amount of time where they promote a product and allow people to try a sample. Some demos are 4 hours, some are 6, and some are even 8 hours long. The demos are conducted at various places including indoor and outdoor events. They work with stores like Walmart, Jewel, Meijer, Sam’s Club, Walgreens, Costco, etc.

Product demonstrators aren’t always hired by these individual stores. Most of them work for larger sales and marketing companies who have contracts with major retailers and place their employees there to boost product sales.

While I did demos for mostly food and drink products, other people promote a wide array of items like cleaning products, accessories, carpets and rugs, dietary supplements, skin care products, and so on.

A product demonstrator’s main goal is to boost sales and product awareness by engaging with customers throughout the store, offering them a product to taste or take home, and encouraging them to make a purchase.

Sound easy enough? That’s why I liked working such a low maintenance job but let’s go through some of the pros and cons to get a better understanding of what the job entails.

The Pros

• For a side job, the pay is better than minimum wage. Most product demonstrators can expect to make at least $11-13/hour starting out and some even make up to $20/hour if they are representing more high-end products.
• You receive training once you get hired and continuously throughout your employment (it’s often paid training as well).
• As hinted in my first point, most of these positions aren’t commission only. I’ve worked as a product demonstrator with 4 different companies and they all paid hourly. One even added a bonus based on the sales I made. Aggressive sales is NOT my strong point and I wouldn’t be able to make it if my work compensated by commission only.
• You get to learn a lot of new recipes and become knowledgeable about various products. Sometimes you even get free products to take home. 🙂 I learned some of my favorite recipes from demo jobs. It really allowed me to become more open to trying new food.
• You get to meet and interact with a wide range of people. If you’re social and enjoy talking to different people, you’ll like that this job encourages meeting and connecting with others regularly.

The Cons

• The job requires that you stand your entire shift. Enough said.
• Sometimes you may be asked to travel. Depending on which company hires you, your job may be to travel to various different stores each week/end and it can be a hassle to pack up and travel to a new store each time you work. Most stores will be within your desired area though, but I found that mileage is a hassle to get reimbursed if I didn’t travel more than an hour away.
• It can get boring. If you work a 6 or 8-hour shift and the store is dead, you may not have much to do unless the store is super busy.

How Does Being a Product Demonstrator Work?

When you are hired by a company or retailer to do demos, you will either have a home store or you will be required to travel to various different stores within your region. As a veteran product demonstrator, I’ve been on both sides of the fence. I really favor having a home store because it’s easier to go to one store each week and get to know the products and the people who work there.

When you have a home store, all you need to do it show up when your shift starts, wear something that reflects the dress code, meet with your manager and get to work. Some stores have demo managers who will print out your demo information for the day. That way, all you’ll need to do is grab the product off the shelf and set everything up.

If you don’t have a home store or an in-store demo manager, you’ll most likely be mailed a kit with supplies, and a company credit card to purchase product and information for your demo. When you show up to the location, you’ll need to check in with management, set up, and perform your demo.

Product demonstrating can be a very independent job depending on where/how you work and sometimes you may not even see your manager face-to-face. Most of the scheduling will be done online and after each demo, you’ll have to fill out a brief report online.

What Experience Do You Need as a Product Demonstrator?

For the most part, you shouldn’t need any prior experience to become a product demonstrator. You’ll most likely go through training with any company you work for. However, some places do favor applicants with sales or customer service experience, especially retail experience.

You’ll need to be professional since you’ll be the face of the product and brand. You’ll also need to be energetic and have a happy disposition. This is a sales/customer service job after all. As far as physical requirements, you’ll need to be able to travel and stand for long periods of time. You may also need to be able to lift heavy products, and/or cook depending on what you’re demonstrating.

How to Find Product Demonstrator Jobs

It’s very easy to make $300-500 a month or more doing demos each month. Since training is provided once you get the job, you really don’t need any special degrees or certifications to get hired.

Finding the jobs and getting hired can be the difficult part. If you’re interested in applying to become a product demonstrator, I’d suggest you make an effort to follow up with your application either by visiting or calling the in-store manager at the retailer you applied to. Or, you can try calling the marketing company to show your interest in the position and follow up with a regional manager.

Once you chat with a regional manager and exchange contact information with them, it’s very easy to close the deal and land the job since these companies are almost always looking for part-time help. Some companies and retailers that hire in-store product demonstrators include:

• Costco
• Meijer
• Advantage Sales and Marketing
• Eat Well Distribution
• MCG Connect

Being an in-store demonstrator is a great way to earn some easy side income on the weekends or during the week, get out and meet new people and learn more about valuable products.

Where to Apply

Now that you know how to find the jobs, let’s talk about a few places that you can apply. While sites like Indeed and ZipRecruiter can find some in your area, here are a few other places to look:

• Advantage Solutions 
• AtWork
• Club Demonstration Services
• Costco

Of course, with any website, remember to check the pay, qualifications, and if they’re truly legit before applying. While the sites listed are legit companies, you can never be too careful online when applying to sites you never heard of or dealt with.

Sites like Indeed can also make it easy to apply since all you have to do is upload your resume. Then, you can apply to jobs quickly with just a click of the button. But if applying to a job outside of a 3rd party network like Indeed, you’ll have to go through the whole process.

Did you know that in-store demonstrators usually earn a higher hourly rate than the sales associates who work in well-known stores like Walmart, Sam’s Club and Costco? Have you ever tried any amazing products from an in-store demonstrator?