Short-term incentives eg price discounts, free samples, to persuade customers to buy a particular product and / or distributors (eg retailers and wholesalers) to stock a particular product. Those aimed at intermediaries such as wholesalers and retailers (as opposed to the end-customer / consumer) are called ‘into the pipeline’ methods. These include: discounts for bulk purchases, free merchandising and display material, better credit terms. Those aimed at the end-customer / consumer are ‘out of the pipeline’ methods. These include: Free offers / gifts / samples, Bonus packs eg 50% extra, Multibuys eg buy 1 get 1 free, Money off coupons, vouchers, Mailing refunds, Loyalty / reward cards, Competitions eg for holidays, Charity donations – donation per product purchased. Although these may be useful in encouraging the end-customer / consumer to buy the product once it is on the shelves, they may also be essential in persuading retailers to stock a business’s products, if they are likely to lead to increased sales.