SOUTH CITY MALL

How crucial are the next 40 days and why: For South City, this is the first Puja so these 40 days are rather vital. And going by the look of things, the Prince Anwar Shah Road mall is happy hunting ground for festive shoppers. “Shopping is a feel-good factor, even if we feel depressed once we reach home,” jokes Sanjeev Mehra, vice-president, mall operations.

Crowd profile: When it comes to festive shopping, the whole family gets involved — parents with children are a more common sight than groups of friends at this time of the year here. With closing time being pushed back from 9pm to 10.30pm, office-goers can easily drop in.

What’s selling: Sales that have been slow of late because of inflation and other factors have picked up thanks to the festive season. Since it’s a good time for formal wear, ethnic is flying off the racks. There are plenty of big brands to pick from and apparel is the biggest buy. “Bulk purchase happens during festive time. We have bigger billings… at least 40 per cent more than non-festive times,” says Shiv Daswani, partner, Little Shop.

Footfall and spend: “The conversion rate is definitely higher. Forty per cent of a retailer’s sales happen in these three months. People who have been hanging around are now actually buying,” points out Sanjeev.

When gifting is involved, and one is buying things not just for oneself, the sales definitely see a surge. Festive time also needs less persuasion because everyone is anyway out to buy.

“During the Pujas, we spend Rs 50-60,000 in shopping, including big buys like jewellery. We may go easy the rest of the year but during this time, our purse strings are loosened without regret,” say Debasish and Meenakshi Banerjee.

Mall-TT activities: The shopping bonanza at South City Mall has The Telegraph as media partner. Apart from fashion shows, jugglers and magicians and a special activity counter by Timezone on the ground floor, a dhamaka gift bonanza is on. There are gifts every day, every week.

“We have tried to connect everything to do with selling… and we are giving back to the person who spends the most,” says Sanjeev. The theme is ‘You shop more, you win more!’. The idea: ‘If you spend the most, you deserve the most’.

But a shopper cannot just go to one shop and buy jewellery worth Rs 10 lakh. The spend has to be spread across retailers and so one has to shop in a minimum of three shops. There are prizes from Puma, Giovanni, GKB, UCB, Starmark, Indostyle and restaurants are also giving away vouchers. The bumper prize? A Honda Civic.

Security measures: Two customer help desks are present to help shoppers. Floor managers and securitymen at all entry-exit points make sure the festive fever remains safe and sound.

Shopperspeak: “The exciting atmosphere in the mall with festive decoration and lights makes one feel like shopping. My spending power is more than double at this time of the year,” says Ph.D student Mritika Chatterjee, shopping at South City Mall.

CITY CENTRE

How crucial are the next 40 days and why: “The idea that only Bengalis shop during the Pujas has changed to a more cosmopolitan culture where everyone from non-Bengalis to corporates to NRIs decide to go out and pick up gifts during this season making it quite an occasion,” says Vijay Dwivedi, general manager, mall management, City Centre.

Crowd profile: From large families to college kids to newly-married couples, they are all flocking to the Salt Lake mall. Bright lights, glass-front shops, tall papier mache lamps and theme decorations beckon.

What’s selling: Multi-brand outlet like Shoppers Stop is a top family draw followed by Biba, Fabindia, Blackberry and Benetton. Quite a few shoppers are also seen carrying shopping bags from Sreeleather’s.

Mall-TT Activities: The City Centre Shopping Festival in association with The Telegraph started on September 15 and ends on October 5. Discounts, contests, live performances…. Just take a look at the crowd count in the picture (left) to know if it’s popular or not! The Bid2Win contest is a shoppers’ bargain — those buying goods worth Rs 2,000 or more from a single shop can fill in a bid amount between Rs 1 lakh and 10 lakh for a Toyota Corolla! The highest bidder pays the amount he has put in and drives away with the car at a fraction of its price!

There are special programmes in the outdoor Kund area every Friday evening. The first week saw a visual extravaganza staged by Sapphire Creations Dance Workshop combining rope climbing, martial arts and other forms of movement and dance. Next up are performances by Tanmoy Bose and Taal Tantra plus a Puja Rock special with bands like Dohar and Krosswindz. Add impromptu fashion shows, Antakshari, dumb charades, hourly quiz contests and even prizes to be won on the basis of the colour of one’s outfit! “The idea is to make this shopping festival different, convenient and hassle-free… a complete destination for the customer who can come, eat, shop and go home having had a great time,” says Dwivedi.

Footfall and spend: Spending has gone up “at least 25 per cent” compared to non-festive times. A good index of increased spending patterns is the Bid2Win contest. “There are at least 40 entries every day from shoppers who have spent more than Rs 2,000 in a single store,” says Vijay. With an average footfall of 35,000-plus on weekends, serious shoppers mingle with bystanders. Compared to other times of the year, the conversion of footfall into sales is around 40 per cent, a 10 per cent-plus jump.

Foodfall: Food sales go through the roof with shopping as the appetiser. “It is usually the cafes, ice cream and fast food places that are the biggest crowd pullers,” says Vijay. KFC and Pizza Hut are the most crowded.

Security measures: Mall authorities have reinforced security checks with restricted points of entry and frisking of bags. Garbage bins are cleaned at 15-minute intervals and sniffer dogs roam the premises.

Shopperspeak: “This is one time of the year when I come out with my wife and son to shop. We have bought an MP3 player and are now going to buy something for my son. I would also like to take a look at The Mobile Store,” said S. Dutta, out shopping with his family.

MANI SQUARE

How crucial are the next 40 days and why: “People in Calcutta are very occasion driven and they shop around different festivals. Thus these next few days will be important for our mall as now is the time of serious shopping vis-a-vis the early curiosity around a new mall,” says Subesh Ray, senior vice-president and head (marketing), of Mani Group.

Crowd profile: Family shopping is definitely the big thing in festive times. But the weekends are also seeing groups of students having a good time at the newest mall on the block. Kids and teens are queueing up to get scared at Scary House, modelled on the House of Horrors.

What’s selling: Big brands Westside, Spencers, Little Shop… are drawing in the crowds. “The idea is to convert visitors to serious shoppers,” says Ray. “Making it a personalised festival with one-to-one interaction goes a long way in establishing ourselves as a trustworthy mall brand.”

Mall-TT Activities: A range of discounts and special gifts lies in store for the festive shopper. A shopping festival from September 22 to October 5, in association with t2, is the highlight of this mall. A special performance by Pakistani band Jal on September 23, Solo performances by Jojo on September 29, Shayne Hyrapiet on October 1, Anjan Dutt on October 4, interactive quiz shows, special kiddie fashion shows, events involving senior citizens… the list of fun on the run is long and rich! There’s also a permanent ramp “specially set up for the season” to showcase the latest ‘now’ trends and a magic show by PC Sorcar on September 27. And those done with their share of shopping can take a sneak peek into the future at special tarot card stalls.

Footfall and spend: Footfall touched 25,000 last weekend at Mani Square as compared to 7,000 on weekdays in non-festive times. Spending has also gone up with two weeks to go for Puja. “The number of parking slips and food court billing has doubled,” says Ray. In non-festive times, an outing to the mall is more about “eating and entertainment”. Now those who would just hang around, window-shop, watch a film and grab a bite have turned into serious shoppers armed with lists for Dadu-Dida-Ma-Baba-Babai-Tubai/Nana-Nani-Papa-Mummy-Rahul-Pooja.

Foodfall: The food court that opened on July 23 with its range of global cuisine is busy serving momos to dosas to ice-cream (Mama Mia!, New Zealand Naturals and Baskin Robbins), theme restaurant Machaan is busy, and McDonald’s is still the biggest draw.

Security measures: A 100 securitymen check cars and bags at every entrance point.

Shopperspeak: “It’s far more comfortable to shop in a mall without having to worry about parking or jostling crowds. I can wander around to my heart’s content with my Puja shopping list, keep my seven-year-old son entertained with a visit to an ice cream parlour and enjoy myself,” says shopper Chandni Sharma.

If The Telegraph Puja Shopping Festival makes shopping so much fun at the city’s newest malls, the Shoppers Stop Sananda Pujo Bazaar ushered in some more festive spirit on September 20 at Forum.

Model Indrani Dasgupta (picture right) inaugurated the event followed by a live performance by band Krosswindz on Saturday. In the pipeline are performances by Mir, some salsa moves and a fashion show by Calcutta models. “The three prime festivals of Durga Puja, Id and Diwali are all within a month. The amalgamation of giving away good offers and getting fresh merchandise is the advantage of the season,” says Naveen Misra of Shoppers Stop.

From now to October 2, Puja shopping is flagged off and sales-footfall conversion “goes up substantially by 30-35 per cent”.

The Shoppers Stop Sananda Pujo Bazaar ends on October 20.