There are discounts and then there are offers. But this one clearly takes the cake! At a mall in a Mumbai suburb, shoppers who troop in dressed in their night attire are given a good discount. Malls are using desperate measures to rope in customers. Some of this is also being forced by stiff competition from high street and online retailers.

Delhi-based Pacific Mall is doling out cheques worth Rs 5 lakh once a week to shoppers with the maximum billing during its 20-day sale period till the end of this month. Similarly, Mumbai’s Runwal Group, which owns RMall and RCity in the metro, not only offers gift vouchers to their highest shopper, but some might be lucky enough to drive home a car worth Rs 14 lakh.

Oberoi Mall, besides having a single-day flat sale, is offering a Chevrolet to its lucky shopper. The Korum Mall in Thane has a mega prize of a Ford EcoSport at its month-long discount sale, and is intent on pushing the 50 per cent discount offer on food and salon services as well as on apparel.

Anupam T., CEO, Runwal Group, says retailers are unveiling unique marketing strategies to address challenges pertaining to a particular mall and catchment area. “Online discounts are definitely becoming a major concern for brick-and-mortar players. Besides addressing that problem, we are looking at engaging with retailers. The plan is to get more first-time shoppers to purchase more,” Anupam said. The Korum Mall has a flat 50 per cent discount offer on over 100 brands up to midnight. The icing on the cake is the gifts for those who land up in their PJs (pajamas).

As Deva Jyotula, Centre Manager, Korum Mall said, “We know that people tend to come home late at night. And rather than put on make-up and dress up to visit our mall, we decided to make it convenient for people to walk-in in their night attire. The idea is to encourage people to come out late in the evening.”

Monsoon is generally a season for discounts too and that drives business. “Our sales have grown by 23 per cent year-on-year,” said Korum’s Jyotula. Last year, the mall had offered a free trip to Hong Kong for the lucky-draw winner.

Another mall, Phoenix Market City, has already witnessed an increase of over 25 per cent in footfalls compared to last year. Similarly, Oberoi Mall is expecting 40-45 per cent sales growth this year with all these offers.

While RCity Mall in Mumbai is offering a flat 50 per cent discount on leading brands, many retailers say they have noticed an uptrend in business. Phoenix Market City is hosting ‘The Great Fashion Fest’, which can win customers a free trip to DisneyLand in Hong Kong.

Retailers have also noticed sales growing.

For instance, Lifestyle International has reported an increase of 60 per cent in sales;Woodland has recorded a sales jump of 25 per cent from last year.

According to Mukesh Sawlani, Managing Director, AND Designs, the company has seen a 50 per cent increase in sales across all exclusive brand stores.

“The way it is going, things are looking very promising. Apparel, electronics, books and food are doing very well. This year we expect to create a new peak,” said Nirzar Jain of Oberoi Mall.

>priyanka.pani@thehindu.co.in

>amritanair.ghaswalla@thehindu.co.in

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