From discounts to gift packs, retailers win hearts of shoppers on V-Day

Crowds are milling at popular shopping destinations such as Linking Road in Bandra and Alfa Stores in Vile Parle in Mumbai.

The occasion is Valentine’s Day (V-Day) and people seem busy checking out apparel, jewellery, and lifestyle items, keeping a firm eye on the offers and promotions available.

Retailers aren’t disappointing them, either.

A popular department store at Linking Road is offering a straight 45 per cent discount on its V-Day merchandise. Another store nearby has an eye-popping 85 per cent discount on its apparel and fashion items. The proprietor of the store, Kanjilal Shah, says he was anticipating footfalls around V-Day and was keen to take advantage of the opportunity on hand.

V-Day this year is unlike previous years. It is the first shopping occasion after Republic Day (R-Day) last month. More importantly, it is coming after a difficult calendar year 2020, disrupted by the pandemic.

Retailers, therefore, are doing all they can to woo shoppers — offering aggressive discounts, gift packs, shooting off personalised emails and text messages, running digital campaigns, and dialling up loyal customers, if needed.

Categories driving V-Day include fashion, lifestyle, jewellery, electronics, and food & beverages (F&B).

“There is pent-up demand and I do see things getting back to normal in cities such as Mumbai,” said retail industry expert Jaydeep Shetty, business director (India), Color Sports Inc, a sports goods dealer and distributor.

Malls in cities such as Mumbai and Delhi are experiencing this pent-up demand.

Consider what Pushpa Bector, executive director at DLF Retail, has to say. Her observation is that F&B is the big driver this V-Day because people choose to unwind after months of lockdown restrictions.

“Both in terms of the number of customers and ticket size the F&B segment is playing a key role this Valentine season. All our F&B outlets have received pre-booking at optimum levels. This is also driving sales into other outlets at our malls, pushing up footfalls to close to pre-Covid levels,” said Bector.

Rajendra Kalkar, president-West, Phoenix Mills, which runs malls in Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, and Chennai, among other cities, said the recovery rate in terms of consumption was around 85 per cent this month, against the previous month.

“Month-on-month, there is improvement in sentiment and this is reflecting in the recovery rate. It has been an upward climb over the past few months and occasions such as V-Day and R-Day do give a bump-up to sales,” Kalkar said.

Rajneesh Mahajan, chief executive officer, Inorbit Malls, which has properties in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Vadodara, said the recovery rate had been 83-87 per cent this month over the previous month.

“There is momentum on the ground. People are shopping. That is good news. The ones buying are still largely serious shoppers. But yet, occasions such as V-Day are showing that people are willing to let down their guard. Saturday, for instance, saw brisk business at our malls. Sunday will also be a good day,” said Mahajan.

Brand worth

Consumer electronics major Xiaomi has rolled out special pricing for customers during Valentine’s week. Apart from lowering prices for its range of smart televisions and accessories, it is also providing bundled offers for a number of over-the-top platforms. Subscription plans for SonyLIV, Eros Now, Hoichoi, Hungama Play, and DocuBay are being offered at 25-50 per cent discounts, along with Xiaomi products.

Smartphone brand Vivo, on the other hand, is offering free gifts, cashback, and easy finance options for its newly launched models Vivo V20, YS1A, Y31 and Y20G, on both online and offline channels.

Havell’s has entered the electronics skincare segment, with a range of products like hair removers, shavers, face cleansers/massagers, and nail shiners, pushing them aggressively during V-Day.

Online fresh meat delivery app Licious has put out a special line of products. The retailer is also offering a 20 per cent discount.

E-commerce major Flipkart, meanwhile, is running Fashion Days sale around V-Day, with discounts on hundreds of brands.

Rival Amazon has launched a Valentine’s Day Store. It has tied up with a wide range of brands, including HP, OnePlus, Samsung, Raymond, Forest Essentials, and Lakme, to capitalise on the occasion.