There are over 550 malls in the country, Two-thirds of them are concentrated in the Klang Valley, serving a population of 7 .5 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With such demographics, the shopping centre industry is very competitive as it glamours to satisfy the needs of a large shopper base. And it is not easy, .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shoppers expect an array of choices. They demand more personalised experiences from fashion to food, travel, and on-demand entertainment to match their lifestyles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hence, managing a mall calls for determining the best tenant mix in order to attract the right shoppers and continue Lo grow its footfall, which is the number of shoppers entering its premise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the midst of pulling the crowds, another focus is to increase the purchasing power amongst shoppers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The challenge of getting the right shoppers and having to share them amongst many other malls has made competition in the industry even more challenging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marketing campaigns have to be properly planned to attract crowds during festive periods, for instance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As society becomes more sophisticated, shoppers seek more attention. Hence, many malls execute smart marketing campaigns that are geared to providing personalised experiences like never before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are three major festival seasons in the country and nine special days for other celebrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Major festivals encompass Chinese New Year, Hari Raya and Christmas while the special days are Deepavali, Valentine\u2019s Day, Earth Day, Good Friday, Mother\u2019s Day, Father\u2019s Day, Teachers Day, Mid-Autumn Day and Thanks Giving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tourism Malaysia and the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism have also promoted yearly sales periods such as 1 Malaysia Super Sale from March 1-31, Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival from June 15 to Aug 31 and Malaysia Year End Sales from Nov 1 to Dec 31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With so many days of celebrations, the country is truly a shopping paradise for locals and international visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christmas is celebrated largely in many Western countries but due to our multi-racial society, we celebrate it along with Chinese New Year, Hari Raya and the New Year in a big way too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a cosmopolitan catchment area such as the Klang Valley, the average number of shoppers at successful malls exceed a footfall of 30 million per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Statistics for the joint Christmas and Malaysia Year End Sales period and local and regional school holidays indicate that through marketing efforts, festive periods are one of the best platforms to draw in the crowds and increase footfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the past three years, such periods have shown an increase in shoppers of about four to 12% In malls compared with the average footfall during normal times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marketing campaigns during this golden period has to be outstanding and provide novelty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u201cwow\u201d factor is key to a successful campaign such as last year when Sunway Pyramid adopted An Aquatic wonderland as its Christmas theme. Sleighs drawn by sea horses made their rounds to the homes of all sea creatures delighting the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pavilion Kuala Lumpur also had its \u201cwow\u201d show when it put up the tallest Swarovski Christmas Tree, costing RM3 mil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year, Mid Valley Megamall\u2019s Chinese New Year theme was Fo<\/em>rt<\/em>u<\/em>n<\/em>e <\/em>B<\/em>r<\/em>ee<\/em>d<\/em>s<\/em> F<\/em>o<\/em>r<\/em>tu<\/em>n<\/em>e<\/em> with the spirit of prosperity, while 1 Utama celebrated A <\/em>T<\/em>i<\/em>m<\/em>e t<\/em>o <\/em>F<\/em>l<\/em>o<\/em>u<\/em>r<\/em>i<\/em>s<\/em>h <\/em>supported by an impressive rewards programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Malls with good marketing efforts have seen a significant increase in footfall of approximately Sgf1 or more iI1 the past three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Print, electronic and social media play an important role during festive periods by sending shoppers positive messages,<\/p>\n\n\n\n It may come as a surprise, but during the Chinese New Year period which usually falls in February, Klang Valley malls have consistently marked their lowest footfalls for the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are two reasons for this \u2013 it being a shorter month, and the fact that Chinese shoppers will spend a week or two in their hometowns for the community\u2019s biggest celebration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the same time, other ethnic groups also take advantage of the long break to similarly leave for their hometowns or go on holiday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hence, shopping malls in the towns see an increase of between 5% and 17% in footfall during the period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is clear that the Chinese New Year migration affects spending patterns and significantly impacts the footfall of shopping malls in the Klang Valley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mall managers are constantly on their toes to find new ways to offer target audiences an exclusive experience \u2013 one that caters to their shoppers\u2019 growing appetites for customisation, and greater choice and excitement so that they can boost footfall and sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Advances in data gathering, analysis and wireless technology vastly improves how events are planned and managed, Indeed, technology is reshaping the shopping mall industry,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Social networks have been a boon to event marketing and promotions. Fans build communities of like-minded friends and share their excitement with communities without boundaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These trends drive significant growth in the festivals and consumer events space around the world, arid it is not going to slow anytime soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Savvy marketing campaigns capitalise on the trend for greater choice by spending time with fans on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marketers listen to what excites these fans, chat with them and ask for ideas which help to think creatively about event programming and brainstorming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mall managers are taking advantage of industry trends to plan smarter and operate with greater speed and flexibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Creating a platform in the mall where hobbyists can engage i11\u00a0their individual passions \u2013 car shows for automobile enthusiasts, animation for others, jewellery, for those who fancy them \u00a0and fashion shows for those who\u00a0 love trendy outfits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taking advantage of the festive season, mall managers are designing their marketing campaigns according to shoppers\u2019 needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once the focus of an event is determined, and the target audience identified, a marketing campaign is designed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It usually offers incentives, immediate rewards, and loyalty programmes to ensure repeat shoppers who are enticed with gifts for purchases. This increases impulse buying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A successful marketing campaign is extremely important because advertising alone is not capable of convincing target audiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marketing campaigns must be complete. Ideally, they include some form of benefits for shoppers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is 110 foolproof success formula for any mall marketing campaign. It is a fast moving industry with a very volatile market for retailers, mall managers and stakeholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keeping the mall \u201crelevant\u201d is one of the basic rules to observe at all times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jenny Chan is the Malaysia Shopping Malls Association (PPK) committee member for research.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are over 550 malls in the country, Two-thirds of them are concentrated in the Klang Valley, serving a population of 7 .5 million. With such demographics, the shopping centre industry is very competitive as it glamours to satisfy the needs of a large shopper base. And it is not easy, . Shoppers expect an array […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-2866","writers-corner","type-writers-corner","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ppkm.org.my\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/writers-corner\/2866"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ppkm.org.my\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/writers-corner"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ppkm.org.my\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/writers-corner"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ppkm.org.my\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/writers-corner\/2866\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ppkm.org.my\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Technology reshaping the industry<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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