Yes, there already was a Free Cone Day celebrated this year—the one hosted by Ben & Jerry’s in early April. But I don’t think anyone’s going to complain about getting a second chance to snag free ice cream.
Tuesday, May 8, is Free Cone Day at Haagen-Dazs shops around the country. Between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., all customers at 250+ participating Haagen-Dazs locations can get a free scoop of any flavor, at no charge whatsoever.
The company released this statement when announcing the day of freebies:
“May is a time when communities across the nation start to say so long to winter woes and hello to the sweet sound of summer,” says Dawn Uremovich, president of Häagen-Dazs Shops. “We wanted to create a fun-filled afternoon that gets people out of their houses and we couldn’t think of a better way than to entice them with a free scoop of ice cream.”
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Free Cone Day is yet another example of how businesses view the giveaway as a terrific way to build excitement surrounding the brand, thereby boosting sales in the short- and long-term alike. You’ll notice that both Ben & Jerry’s and Haagen-Dazs have decided on spring as the perfect season for an ice cream giveaway. Why? Hopefully because consumers who enjoy their free cones now will consciously or subconsciously feel compelled to come back as paying customers during the peak ice cream-eating months ahead—”the sweet sound of summer,” as Uremovich puts it.
What’s especially interesting is that freebies have also been shown to produce big sales on the days that goods are being given away. Giveaway days of everything from comic books to Slurpees and pancakes to pretzels are typically huge sales days for the stores giving them away—because customers are inclined to spend some money after receiving a handout, and/or because after getting a small sample of the goods, they want more right away.
Brad Tuttle is a reporter at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @bradrtuttle. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.