Shopping mall operators are expecting good business during the extended weekend as people pour in, queuing up outside stores and trial rooms alike.
The early festival start has helped sustain steady traction across DLF malls, “with a 20 per cent rise in footfall giving us a solid lead-in to Black Friday as shopper confidence improves steadily,” said Pushpa Bector, senior executive director and business head at DLF Retail.
With strong offers and early trends showing healthy interest across categories, Bector expects to see a strong double-digit uplift over the Black Friday period, paving the way for a strong close to the year.
At Phoenix Malls, too, the Black Friday weekend remains one of the most significant milestones in the retail calendar and the malls will stay open till midnight.
“Our focus on experience-led shopping shapes the way customers engage with our malls. Black Friday has consistently delivered strong footfalls and double-digit year-on-year growth across our portfolio, and we expect the same this year,” said Mayank Lalpuria, director-marketing (North, Central & West) at The Phoenix Mills.
Black Friday has evolved from a single day sale to a week-long affair, points out Nishank Joshi, chief marketing officer at Nexus Select Malls, adding that the event provides a timely surge in November, which tends to be softer when Diwali falls in October.
“This year too, we are elevating the experience with bigger giveaways, bigger assured gifts and two times reward points for shoppers who upload their bills on our app. While traditionally, categories like electronics and beauty used to take the lead, but now we’re witnessing a wider acceptance across segments like fast fashion, accessories as well,” Joshi added.
The chain is optimistic of delivering double-digit growth in both sales and footfalls during the weekend.
Apparel retailers have introduced several offers for the occasion.
“Black Friday has become one of the most anticipated shopping moments for young India and it represents a strong opportunity to connect with our core audience,” said Hemant Jain, joint managing director at Kewal Kiran Clothing, which makes the Killer brand of jeans.
With offers like ‘Buy 2, get 1 free’, ‘buy 1 at flat 20 per cent off’, and additional savings for loyalty members through bonus points, the brand expects to drive a significant spike in both online and in-store traffic along with a noticeable surge in new customer acquisition.
Apparel industry executives point out that Black Friday is a much different occasion than other marquee sales on Independence Day and Republic Day, as fresh stock is put on discount during this sale.
For the Gen-Z focused fast fashion brand NEWME, early signals like pre-registrations, store queues, and online hype point to demand potentially scaling three-four times across both online and offline, claimed Sumit Jasoria, co-founder and chief executive officer.
“With offers like ‘Buy 1, get 1’ across all styles and flash deals, exclusive capsule drops, and special early-access perks for registered shoppers and with almost double the number of stores, expansion into new cities, sharper merchandising, and deeper creator-led buzz, we expect the momentum to be strong,” Jasoria said.
Abhinav Kumar, co-founder of Brand Concepts, which markets brands like Tommy Hilfiger and United Colors of Benetton in India, said, “This year, our focus is on driving what we call ‘aspirational conversion’ turning the intent to upgrade into a purchase decision and are expecting about 10-15 per cent growth in gross merchandise value, led by shoppers who are intentionally waiting for this period to make premium buys.”
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