Well organised events are one of the best ways to increase footfall, dwell time and encourage loyalty, they create a bit of visual theatre on the mall that’s engaging and entertaining for everyone.
Fashion shows are always popular but the secret behind their success is well handled retailer liaison. It’s absolutely vital to get retailers to buy into the concept, you need to ensure they recognise the value to them in terms of increased sales, and so everything we do is geared towards getting the audience in store after the show. We encourage and advise retailers to participate in complimentary promotions to run immediately after the show with our full support.
We find sales figures are significantly increased when retailers discount show items for the duration of the event and display them in the storefront windows. However we realise that not all retailers are happy to offer discounts and so another idea we present is to hand out sealed envelopes to a limited number of profiled customers watching the show. The envelopes contain a number which, if matching the one displayed in store at the register, wins a prize. They’re also handed out by very attractive models; which obviously creates a buzz among the crowd who all follow in store just to find out what’s going on. The more savvy retailers capitalise on this by offering treats like a glass of bubbly or some nibbles, which further increases customer dwell time.
But don’t take our word for it – Here’s a small sample of direct retailer feedback from our fashion events:
QUIZ
We saw an increase in sales of 224% on last year and totally smashed our targets thanks to the show.
JOHN LEWIS
We noticed a positive impact on our trade over the two-day event which we reinforced with additional activity in store. Over the Friday and Saturday of the event, footfall was 16 per cent higher than other Fridays and Saturdays in the month.
OASIS
We completely sold out of one of the dresses in the show and had to take it off the mannequin. A hugely successful event for us!
JOULES
We smashed our targets on both days and footfall was really high.
WAREHOUSE
After a slow week there was a significant increase in sales over the show weekend which made all the difference between us hitting target or not.
VERO MODA/JACK JONES
Our figures were excellent, Friday sales doubled!
