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Dubai: Every time a customer walks into a mall, he or she has a different experience. Shops showcase products taking into consideration upcoming events. Whether it is "back-to-school" time or Ramadan, or the recent summer festival, the retail business is constantly evolving in an effort to convince shoppers to part with their cash.
This seasonal marketing allows companies to maximise their business by repackaging and re-branding products that they think will be in demand. Discounts on bundles, family packs, single packs and various other offers pop up at the beginning of every shopping season.
Eisa Adam Ebrahim, chairman of Dubai Shopping Malls Group, says seasonal marketing is an integral part of the overall marketing strategy.
"You engrave yourself on a customer's mind, whereby you know that before customers start shopping, they will have you in mind as a preference," he says.
But do such initiatives really help? Manoj R Thanwani, director of Choithram, the supermarket chain, says seasonal marketing has a major impact on Choithram's retail operations.
Even fast-food chains do not miss a season, and go as far as introducing new products.
Rafic Fakih, managing director of Emirates Fast Food, which owns the franchise for McDonald's in the UAE, says his company takes into account customer requirements when offering seasonal products. "Last year during Ramadan, we introduced Date Pie, a product that was new and relevant to the occasion," he says.
Direct impact
Branding carried out in a shopping season, whether high or low, has a direct impact on business revenues.
The back-to-school initiative and Ramadan season are evidently a high-spending period.
"These two campaigns attribute a major sales growth every year," says Thanwani of Choithram, which operates several/a number of retail outlets in the UAE.
He adds that Ramadan "normally results in a quantum leap in sales of approximately 40 to 50 items that form part of the diet during that season".
Ebrahim says that during busy seasons, customers have specific shopping requirements, and that is why retailers spend a lot on marketing.
He adds that such spending is increasing significantly year after year. "There is a double-digit growth."
Thanwani says: "An average of an additional 30 per cent is invested by our corporation for festive seasonal promotional campaigns."
However, Fakih says McDonald's does not allocate funds for specific seasons.
"We support the introduction of any new offering during this period like any other offerings during the year."
Sales this year have risen 30 per cent compared to last year, Thanwani says.
Seasonal marketing "has resulted in consistent sales increase, which is reflected in the foot traffic and in the value of the shopping basket per consumer."
Retailers also compete with each other, making enticing offers to attract visitors.
While McDonald's says its marketing is not driven by peer pressure, Thanwani says: "We look forward to competition. It allows us to constantly develop new methods of promoting our retail, which is a must in this fast-moving environment of the UAE."
Planning
Marek Maitland-Walker, head of marketing for Hotbrands International, operator of ethnic restaurants in the Middle East, says: "Marketing is not an exact science. If you plan well and learn from previous campaigns then over time your results will improve.
"Whether we feel the pressure or not, we must always monitor what our competitors are doing."
Piyush Mathur, regional managing director at AC Nielsen Company, a retail researcher, says seasonal marketing is going to get more competitive.
He says the UAE could see consolidation of regional names in the coming three to five years. "That's what we have seen in other countries and that process will start in the UAE soon."
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